French authorities are expecting 1,000 ticketless Aston Villa fans to flood Paris this week, but do not believe there will any trouble between rival supporters.
That’s according to L’Equipe, who cover the situation today and the general calm from the French authorities over the matter.
Aston Villa take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday and according to L’Equipe the game is set to be a sellout.
The Parc des Princes has already reported as much, although several hundred seats have emerged on ticket resale sites, ranging from €170 up in the stands to €530 for seats next to the entrance tunnel.
The clash has not give rise to ‘particular concern’ among the authorities, who believe there is no known dislike or ‘antagonism’ between the two clubs or their supporters. A security meeting was held on Monday to discuss the matter.
2,000 Aston Villa fans are expected in the visitor park while another 1,000 ticketless fans are expected to be in Paris watching the game in bars. 150 of that delegation have been deemed as ‘at risk’ by the police.
This has led the National Division to Fight Hooliganism (DNLH) to rank the match at a level three, which means there is a “risk of public disorder related to a dispute between supporters or the usual behaviour of certain supporters.”
The number of ticketless fans has prompted that response, with five forces of mobile gendarmes or CRS requested by the Paris Police Prefecture to help control matters.
PSG have also requested that their Ultras be allowed to welcome to the team bus to the game, as has become customary for European games, but the authorities are yet to decide on the matter.
Either way, it seems the French authorities are not overly concerned by such a large group of Aston Villa fans travelling without tickets, hoping that the lack of animosity between both sides and their fans leads to a pleasant evening for all.
