Severe security measures have been placed around the Nea Philadephia Municipality for Wednesday’s UEFA Conference League Final between Olympiacos FC and Fiorentina.
5,000 police officers will be placed around the area for the game, while intensive security check points, emergency traffic regulations and interruptions have been in place since 6 a.m.. A security perimeter has also been set up around the venue, allowing only people with permits to enter. This measure extends to the neighborhood’s residents in the specific part of the municipality.
Authorities and UEFA security officials reportedly scoured the venue and the surrounding area, including patrols by bomb-sniffing K-9 unit, before closing off the area completely.
Both drone surveillance and anti-drone systems will be fielded as the event draws near. Other media reports in Athens cite the arrival and fielding of Italian police officers familiar with football-related security and anti-hooligan operations.
According to reports in the Greek capital, some 120 civil defense volunteers will be assigned to the stadium, along with a special unit of firefighters on standby at every gate and in the stands. The latter is a precaution to quickly extinguish flares and fireworks – although the latter items are strictly forbidden.
Police spokesperson Kostantia Dimoglou emphasized on ERT that today’s security measures are so extensive they resemble the level present at the Olympic Games.
She explained how the procedures and plan drafted were a product of over four months of careful planning between UEFA, the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) and the two finalists teams.
Dimoglou stressed that safety measures will not end with the final blow of the whistle and that action plans have been drafted for both outcome scenarios. She also emphasized that fans of the two teams will not leave the stadium from the same exits.
Fiorentina fans will be transported exclusively by buses and will leave the stadium in the same way.
To further control the hordes of event-goers, “fan-meeting points” will also be set up around Athens, from which fans will be escorted by police to designated trains and buses to get to the venue. Fans will have to have their tickets on hand to be permitted to board the train to the stadium.
