Over 4,000 gendarmes, police and public guardians will guarantee public order around the Lia Manoliu stadium in Bucharest on Thursday evening, for the confrontation between local teams Steaua and Rapid in the second leg of the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.
Ground forces will be accompanied by two helicopters for what is seen as the most important football match for Romania in decades. Road traffic around the the stadium will be seriously perturbed starting Thursday afternoon.
And in an effort to prevent violence between the supporters of the two rivaling teams, the sale of alcoholic drinks in the area has been banned.
Local authorities and the Bucharest police have announced they would not tolerate any confrontation between supporters tomorrow, as the enmity of the two clubs is thought to have a high risk of violence despite the overall calm on the first leg of the quarterfinals last Thursday, when the match between Rapid and Steaua ended 1-1.
