Fans face wall of security in Istanbul

FOOTBALL fans flying into Istanbul ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League final faced tightened security yesterday, with immigration officials demanding to see match tickets as well as passports and visas.

Liverpool, in their first European Cup final since the Heysel Stadium tragedy in 1985, have been allocated 20,000 tickets for the match against AC Milan but many fans are expected to make the trip hoping to buy on the black market.

Police have warned supporters travelling without a ticket they could be put straight back on a plane. About 10,000 police and security personnel will be on duty in Istanbul for the game.

“We had to show a ticket as well as a copy of the passport,” said Stuart, a Liverpool fan who arrived in Istanbul after a journey from Manchester via Munich and Sofia.

“I got a ticket because I went to all the games in Europe. It was fine and I didn’t see anyone having any problems.”

Two English fans of Leeds United were stabbed to death in the city five years ago ahead of a UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray. Fenerbahce’s league title win on Sunday sparked violence across Turkey.

Soliman Cheikh, a marketing manager greeting the first guests of sponsors Mastercard, said there had been no complaints despite the increased checks and longer queues.

“The added security is not a waste of time,” he said. “It’s very visible but smooth-running.”

Thirty nine mostly Italian fans were killed when a charge by Liverpool fans caused a wall to collapse at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels 20 years ago.

The last time Liverpool played in a major European final, in the UEFA Cup in 2001 in Germany, there were no serious incidents.

On Sunday night, after Fenerbahce’s victory over bitter rivals Galatasaray clinched the Turkish title, three people were wounded in Istanbul from stray bullets fired in celebration.

A fourth person was stabbed with a kebab carving knife in Taksim, but it was not clear if this was football-related.

In the southern city of Adana, three people were hurt and vehicles damaged in fighting between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray fans. Police broke up another clash between Fenerbahce fans and supporters of a local side in the northwest city of Izmit.