Champions: subway restricted to fans in Istanbul – 06/10/2023 – Sport

The government of Istanbul and UEFA (Union of European Football Federations) have taken firm measures to avoid problems in the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan, scheduled for 10 pm (16 pm Brasilia time) this Saturday (10).

The main action is to prevent people without tickets from approaching the stage of the game, the Atatürk stadium, which is on the outskirts of the European side of the city.

The barriers were placed well before the stadium. The M9 metro line, which leads to the venue, is only open to supporters who have tickets to the match.

Police blockades were set up at stations linking the M9 to other lines, with many agents controlling access.

However, agents did not have readers to verify the authenticity of entries, which had to be shown on mobile phones. The check was visual only.

UEFA has also set up special bus routes to take fans to the stadium. Only those with a ticket can board. The service uses the same regular city buses, with fan divisions: there are different lines for Manchester City and Inter Milan fans.

Organizers are trying to prevent scenes of chaos like the 2022 final in Paris from happening again. At the time, there was huge confusion around the Stade de France, with gas bombs used against fans. Because of this, the start of the match was delayed by 40 minutes.

This time, the sale of alcoholic beverages will be prohibited inside the stadium. Visitors will only be able to consume them in areas outside, before entering. These spaces around the arena will also only be accessed by people with tickets for the match.

The list of restrictions includes banning coins in the stadium. Whoever has them will have to leave them at the entrance. According to Uefa, the amount collected will be donated to the victims of the earthquake that occurred in February in Turkey.

People without a ticket have the option of seeing the match at a “fan fest”, set up near the central area of ​​Istanbul. The place has free admission and a festival atmosphere. There are pre-match shows, booths with games and food and drinks for sale.

Istanbul has a sunny, almost cloudless Saturday. During the day, there is heavy traffic on the roads leading to the stadium and around tourist spots.

Many tourists left to travel on the eve of departure. On Friday night, groups of fans gathered for drinks outside Taksim Square in central Istanbul. This Saturday morning, flights with more fans were still arriving.