Police expand operations ahead of Man Utd match

A police operation will take place before Manchester United's match against AS Roma to prevent a repeat of last week's violent scenes in Italy.

Manchester United fans were ambushed by knife-wielding thugs and beaten by riot police during the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome, on Wednesday.

United officials described the police actions as "indiscriminate" and "a severe overreaction".

Greater Manchester Police will work to keep the peace on Tuesday night amid fears that some United fans will seek revenge by attacking Italian supporters.

There have also been suggestions that Roma hooligans, known as "Ultras", will travel to Manchester to exploit the tension and cause further mayhem.

A GMP spokesman said: "There will be an operation in place to ensure the safety of all fans, club staff and other members of the public.

"We have experience in policing high-profile matches and we will have the appropriate resources in place."

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said he did not anticipate any trouble, and insisted that Roma's 3,800 travelling fans have nothing to fear.

But the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association issued a statement urging fans to remain peaceful.

It read: "We all need to make sure that there are no headlines in Manchester to wipe out the memory of those made by the Italian police last week in Rome."