The Security Advisor for the Basque Government has admitted the upcoming clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the Europa League final will be “the greatest security challenge” they have faced.
Cadena SER cover comments from Bingen Zupiria today after he appeared on SER Deportivos Bilbao to discuss the final at San Mames and their preparations for it.
Bilbao will host the clash between Manchester United and Tottenham on May 21st after the two sides secured their place in the final last week.
The final will require a massive security operation, according to Cadena SER, with it set to be the largest security deployment in the history of Euskadi, even surpassing the numbers they employed for the Tour de France Grand Départ.
British police, UEFA and Zupiria and his teams are working in unison to ensure a safe event, with him admitting that “I’m nervous, this work generates moments of restlessness” when asked about it.
Estimates are that 50,000 combined Tottenham and Manchester United fans could travel to Bilbao, many without tickets for the final. Each club are expected to bring around 15,000 fans with tickets.
Zupiria has explained that the current plan is to essentially carve up the city, ensuring both sets of fans avoid each other, particularly coming to the stadium. Three ‘safety rings’ will be established around San Mames to do this; one on the immediate perimeter, one on the esplanade in front of the stadium and one in the vicinity of Sabino Arana.
Three fan zones have also been set up to separate fans, while several thousand Ertzaintza (Basque police force), the Bilbao Municipal Police and private security personnel will also be deployed. There will also be canine searches, and all containers will be removed from areas too.
UEFA have not deemed the event as high risk, but the deployment of security will be maximum anyway after recent matches in Bilbao turned sour. Zupiria also confirmed the stadium will be heavily monitored from May 20th in advance of the event.
The plan is to ensure a smooth event, with no major incidents between Tottenham and Manchester United fans, and no other trouble, so Bilbao can present itself and repeat the success of host cities such as Dublin in the past.