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May
13, 2000
COPENHAGEN,
MAY 12 (UNB/AP) - Police will not tolerate any trouble
during
next week's UEFA Cup final between England's Arsenal and
Turkey's
Galatasaray in Copenhagen and any foreigner violating the
law
faces immediate expulsion from the country, authorities said
Friday.
"The
police will take prompt and consistent action against
troublemakers
of any kind," Police Commissioner Hanne Bech Hansen
said
in a leaflet published in English and Turkish ahead of
Wednesday's
game.
"Any
person who violates Danish laws will be prosecuted, and for
nonresident
foreigners this will mean that they will be arrested and
most
likely expelled from the country immediately," Bech Hansen
said
in the leaflet, which was to be distributed to fans as they
gathered
in Copenhagen.
Tensions
are high after two English fans were stabbed to death
last
month on the eve of Leeds' first-leg semifinal in Istanbul
against
Galatasaray. Arsenal has warned that hooligans might travel
to
Copenhagen with plans to carry out revenge attacks on Turkish
fans.
Bech
Hansen said a soccer match should be "a popular
celebration,
performed in a sportsmanlike spirit both on and off the
fields."
Police
have declined to say how many officers will be on the
streets
but it will be the largest law enforcement contingent
assigned
to a soccer match. The Ekstra Bladet newspaper reported
that
5,000 policemen and 500 stadium guards will be on hand.
British
and Turkish liaison officers - up to 50 policemen,
according
to the daily - will assist their Danish colleagues in
identifying
potential troublemakers and hooligans. Passport controls
at
the border will be stepped up as of Saturday.
Some
24,000 English and Turkish fans were expected at
Copenhagen's
Parken stadium on Wednesday. In addition, 9,000 tickets
were
sold in Denmark, while 3,000 tickets were sold in other
European
countries and 3,000 were allotted to UEFA to hand out to
other
European soccer associations and business partners.
The
maximum number of seats available to the public have been
reduced
from 41,700 to 39,000 due to security and hundreds of
international
journalists. Outside the downtown arena, some 3
kilometers
(2 miles) of fence have been erected to keep British and
Turkish
supporters separated.
Police
have said that the UEFA Cup final would be modeled on the
1994
European Cup final between Arsenal and Parma in Copenhagen,
during
which no major violence occurred.
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