UEFA and Greek FA ‘relaxed’ about potential all-English decider

UEFA and the Greek FA have played down concerns that next month’s Champions League final could witness a repeat of the violence which has marred recent European matches involving English clubs.

The Premiership is guaranteed to have one representative at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on May 23, with Liverpool and Chelsea drawn together in the semi-finals, while the possibility of an all-English showdown remains with Manchester United set to face AC Milan in the other tie.

English clubs have been caught up in violence at European matches over the last fortnight, with United fans clashing with Italian police and opposing fans at last week’s quarter-final first leg against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Violence also flared before the return match at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Tottenham supporters clashed with Spanish police during the UEFA Cup tie with Sevilla last week and it is feared trouble could flare again should two sets of English fans descend on Athens.

But UEFA spokesman William Gaillard claimed European football’s governing body were relaxed about the prospect of two English teams meeting in the Greek capital.

It would be the third time two teams from the same country had contested a Champions League final.

Gaillard said: “We have already had two Spanish teams in the final, and two Italian teams, so two English teams is bound to happen eventually.

“Who knows who is going to get through? We are quite relaxed about it. Greece is a beautiful country and we hope everybody who goes to Athens for the final has a memorable time.”

Michalis Tsapieis, a spokesman for the Hellenic Football Federation, said. “We are not afraid of a final between two English teams because we don’t have to worry. We’ll be consulting the English authorities as well as UEFA and the Greek police if that were to happen.

“We are sure that everything will be fine and that it will be a great final. I don’t think that we would need any special security measures because the Champions League final is more than a match — it’s a celebration of football.

“It’s a game, not a war.”

Sports-related violence is a particularly thorny issue for the Greek authorities at present.

The country is still entrenched in a self-imposed ban on team sports, put in place last month following clashes between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos fans outside a volleyball match that resulted in the death of a 25-year-old man.

Tsapieis added: “This is a much bigger subject, but it has nothing to do with the Champions League final. I don’t think that this scenario would happen.

“I agree that there has been lots of violence, but as I said before, the Champions League is something special. Security is not something we should be worried about."