Paris Saint Germain’s Champions League semi final classed as high risk by authorities

The UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint Germain has been classed as ” High Risk” by German authorities, reports L’Équipe.

More than 4000 PSG supporters are expected to travel to Dortmund, of which around 1000 are expected to be members of various Ultras groups. Many of them were present in Barcelona for the quarter-final second leg, in which the Parisians sealed their place in tomorrow night’s semi-final with a resounding 4-1 win, but where the capital club’s fans had bottles thrown at them by local fans, nearly leading to a riot which the Catalan police intervened to diffuse. 

Potential political tensions between the Ultras of the two sides have also been considered, with certain right wing groups such as the Borussenfront ideologically opposed to the left-leaning Collectif Ultras Paris. Furthermore, Dortmund police units fear ultras from other clubs in the region, such as Duisburg, Essen and Cologne, may seek to cause trouble and target PSG fans before and after the game. 

Another potential risk factor is May 1st being Labour Day in Germany, with protests attended by up to 3000 people being planned all around the city and scheduled to finish at Signal Iduna Park, where tomorrow’s match will take place.

As such, and with the high-risk security status of the game, PSG supporters will have to follow a set protocol, collecting their match tickets at the Dortmund Football Museum and then spending the day in the Alter Markt area of the city under police surveillance to ensure their safety. 

The two teams met twice in this season’s group stages, the 1-1 draw in Dortmund passing without notable incidents of any kind from a security perspective.

GFFN | Jack McArdle