Spanish authorities have ramped up safety measures ahead of tomorrow night's Champions League showdown between Celtic and Real Madrid.
Reports in Spain claim around 40 Hoops supporters were thrown off a train from Alicante to Madrid at Albacete - two hours south of Madrid - for 'hooliganism', it has been revealed authorities have allocated almost the same number of security personnel as the official Celtic allocation. The Bernabeu Stadium is currently undergoing a £750 million overhaul and is operating at a reduced capacity of 60,000 meaning the Glasgow side have been handed a minimal allocation of just 1,848 tickets for the game.
However, It's estimated between 7,000-10,000 Hoops fans will arrive in Madrid ahead of the match on Wednesday night. The clash has officially been made a 'high-risk' game by Spain's State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport - known as 'Antiviolencia' in the country. And they have now announced they will deploy 1,824 security personnel - almost one for each official Celtic fan for the final game in the group stage.
They will consist of 385 National Police officers, 80 from Madrid's municipal police, 40 from their emergency medical unit, three from the fire department, 62 members of the Red Cross and 1,254 security guards and stewards. Meanwhile, multiple Spanish outlets reported that Spanish rail operator Renfe's 2.45pm service from Alicante to Madrid was halted for 52 minutes at Albacete because of Celtic supporters they described as 'hooligans.'
The Renfe guard on the train was so alarmed at the behaviour of the group of Celtic fans that he requested Spanish National Police to intercept the train after reports of passengers and staff being abused. Around 40 fans were evicted from the train in the city of Albacete, which is still almost two hours from the Spanish capital, although the police have yet to confirm whether they made any arrests.
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