Marseille fans will not be able to approach the Stade da Luz on the night of Thursday, April 11, as the sports stadium will be subject to a security cordon that can only be overcome by valid ticket holders. The information was conveyed to PÚBLICO by Commissioner Artur Serafeim, member of the Public Security Police (PSP), the authority responsible for monitoring the Europa League quarter-final match. Benfica canceled the tickets purchased by Marseille fans, with the French team threatening to skip the match if they did not receive support in the stands.
The “Eagles” decision comes in response to the ban imposed by the French police on the “Reds” fans. Benfica supporters will not be able to attend the second leg of this tie, a decision that the Luz logo strongly objected to. As a form of protest, Benfica canceled tickets purchased by Marseille fans, and also prevented the opponent from receiving support – despite already receiving support. 2,500 tickets were sold to visitors. It's now up to PSP to control the mood of Gaul fans.
“We monitor fan behavior and will act accordingly,” explains Artur Serafeim. The PSP official says he cannot yet provide a forecast for the number of Marseille fans expected in Lisbon, but arrivals by plane and bus are already being controlled. The PSP is “prepared for different scenarios”, as employees are distributed to different points that require extra attention, such as metro stations.
The Marseille president threatened to miss Thursday's match, in solidarity with the fans banned from entering the Stade da Luz, and the director said in a statement that this decision endangers the safety of French fans, many of whom have already traveled and are traveling to stay. Reserved since the result of the draw for the quarter-finals of the European League was known.
There will be no restrictions on the movement of fans already in Lisbon, and no safety box is planned – similar to what usually happens in Benfica's matches against FC Porto and Sporting. However, there will be a strong presence from the Progressive Socialist Party to avoid the risk of disdain.
“Within the designated security perimeter, they are [adeptos sem bilhete válido] They can't get in,” concludes Artur Seraphim.
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