Fans await Roman epic in final countdown

Rival English and Spanish fans created a carnival atmosphere in Rome Wednesday, hoping for an epic battle in the Champions League Final, as police kept the lid on isolated violence outside the stadium.

Supporters of Manchester United and Barcelona dressed up as gladiators and Roman legionnaires, posing for photos around the Coliseum and St Peter’s Square in the countdown to the evening kick-off and sharing drinks despite a booze ban.

Police reported two knife attacks overnight, one on an American tourist who was mistaken for a United supporter, fuelling fears that hardcore Italian fans could target their English counterparts in a replay of previous violence.

However no serious incidents were reported in the course of the day as tens of thousands of fans from both sides soaked up the atmosphere.

“There is a great atmosphere in the city centre. It’s nice to see the two sets of fans mixing so well,” said one English fan who would only give his first name Dave and who had travelled from London for the match.

“We spent the morning down by the Coliseum and it seemed to be four to one Barcelona fans.”

Some 10,000 officers have been mobilised for the operation amid fears that hardline fans of AS Roma, known as the Ultras, will try and attack English fans. A small number of English and Spanish police were also on duty, both in uniform and undercover.

The prefect of police, Giuseppe Caruso, said that his officers were keeping an eye out for “a few dozen” hardcore English fans who could pose a potential hooligan problem.

The main fear is of violence between English and Roma supporters in a replay of the clashes that broke when United played in the Italian capital in December 2007.

Fans from other English clubs, including Arsenal and Liverpool, have also been attacked during ties in Rome in recent years.

Police said they had only had to deal with minor incidents although one English supporter was lightly injured after being stabbed in his thigh in the early hours in downtown Rome.

Meanwhile an American tourist, who police believe may have been mistaken for a United supporter, suffered stab injuries to the thigh and buttocks in an attack outside a pub in a coastal resort just outside the capital.

Around a dozen arrests were made in and around Rome, mainly for being drunk in public, disorderly conduct and possession of a potential weapon.

While shopkeepers have been grateful for the influx of tourists, some residents of the city have been less than pleased to have so many fans — many of them wrapped in their team’s flags — on their doorstep.

“When I tried to go home last night, my street was blocked by dozens of English fans. They were knocking back pints of beer and chanting loudly,” said one Rome resident who gave her name as Maria and is five months pregnant.

“My neighbours chucked some buckets of water at them but they wouldn’t budge so I had to make a detour to get home.”

Many of the players’ wives and girlfriends will also be on hand at the game, and were pictured in Italian designer fashion as they flew out of Manchester and Barcelona.

Stacey Giggs, wife of veteran United winger Ryan, was among those who caught the Roman theme, dressed in a gladiator-style metal studded vest top.

The players themselves were keeping a low profile prior to kick-off but Swiss referee Massimo Busacca and his two assistants did venture out to the Vatican where they received an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.