Tight security planned for Spain-England friendly

About 500 police will provide security during Wednesday’s friendly between Spain and England in Seville, a matched deemed “high risk” by authorities, the Spanish government’s representative in the city said on Monday.

The figure includes twenty police officers who will travel to the southwestern city from England to help Spanish police ensure there is no trouble during the match, Faustino Valdes told a news conference in Seville.

Some 4,000 England supporters are expected to head to the city for the match, with most expected to arrive on game day, he added.

“These are fans who normally travel with the squad and who are controlled by the English Football Federation,” he said.

Aside from providing security at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium, the officers will patrol surrounding neighbourhoods before and after the match.

Security will also be boosted at the airports in Seville, Malaga and in Faro just across the border in Portugal where most England fans who are heading to the match will use, Valdes said.

The last time England played Spain in Madrid in 2004, sections of the crowd at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium made monkey chants whenever two black England players like Ashley Cole or Shaun Wright-Phillips touched the ball.

Concerns over a repeat of the racist abuse led officials to move Wednesday’s match from Madrid where it was originally scheduled to be held in Seville.