The Morocco-Portugal match, of the 2022 World Cup, is considered “very high risk” by the Qatari authorities, due to the presence of 10,000 Moroccan fans without a ticket who will remain in the vicinity of the stadium, revealed this PSP. Friday to the Lusa agency. .
Superintendent João Carlos Ribeiro, who heads the Portuguese police delegation that has been in that country since the start of the competition providing support to local authorities, reported that “less than 1,000 Portuguese fans are expected” at the Al Thumama stadium, in contrast to the huge phalanx of Moroccan support.
“More than 20,000 tickets were sold to Moroccan fans, and FIFA later made another 5,000 available. On the other hand, another 10,000 Moroccan fans are expected to travel to Qatar without a ticket,” Lusa reported.
These 10,000 Moroccans will remain outside the venue, in an area delimited by the authorities, to avoid an invasion attempt like the one that occurred in Morocco-Spain, in the round of 16, on Tuesday.
“This game is being considered very high risk by the authorities. In fact, in my 36-year career, I have never seen a police device the size of what is being prepared. Several thousand troops will be mobilized, ”he confessed.
In this way, the director of the Police Information Department of the PSP advises Portuguese fans duly identified with the national colors to arrive at the stadium “three hours before the start of the game”, considering that “the sooner, the safer the arrival will be”. . be”, even because “there have already been incidents with Portuguese fans”.
“People who are going to travel by subway or ‘shuttle’ will still have to walk about 1.6 kilometers on foot to the stadium, so it is recommended that they travel in a group, by taxi or by Uber,” he warned.
Portugal and Morocco will meet in the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, on Saturday, starting at 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. in Lisbon), at the Al Thumama stadium, in Doha, in a match that will be led by Argentine referee Facundo Tello.
Source: TSF
