A fan invasion in a foreign city is nothing new for Eintracht Frankfurt. Normally something like that always takes place when the Hessians are out and about. On Thursday, however, this phenomenon will take place in Frankfurt itself – when West Ham United play the semi-final second leg at Eintracht (on Thursday from 9 p.m. in the hr-iNFO audio stream) hits. Then, for once, there is a small fan invasion the other way around.
Eintracht itself expects around 6,000 Hammers supporters in the city. The Frankfurt police estimates a similar number and speaks of “a mid-four-digit range,” as a police spokesman said when asked by hr-sport on Tuesday. No matter how many there are: They will be visible on match day in Frankfurt.
Hellmann: “Expect many fans without a ticket at the stadium”
To make matters worse: 1,500 to 3,000 West Ham supporters are likely to travel to Frankfurt without a ticket and still try to get hold of a ticket for the game in some way. “We are expecting many away fans at the stadium, even without a ticket. The police are prepared for this situation,” stressed Eintracht board spokesman Axel Hellmann.
Before that, however, a small fan march by the Londoners is also planned. Eintracht assumes that this will move from the Römer to the stadium via the main train station. However, the police expect that the train will stop at the main train station and that special trains will take you to the city forest from there. Either way, the meeting places for Hammers fans are already set: the Römer and an Irish bar in the station district.
Fan segregation across town
The federal police have already been warned about the fan march and are preparing accordingly. For example, many English-speaking officers are on duty. There will also be strict fan segregation throughout the city. “That is the ultimate goal,” said the police spokesman. Riots around the game should be prevented in any case.
However, one logistical problem cannot be circumvented in Frankfurt: In England there are a number of bars around the stadiums where you can watch the game – if you don’t have a ticket. That is not the case in Frankfurt. As a result, fans without tickets initially have no contact point in the city forest. The Hammers appendix has already been informed of this. Will they be put off by this and not even come? Totally open.
Already from Wednesday increased police presence
The police want to increase their presence throughout the city from Wednesday and are preparing intensively for the operation. Eintracht is also preparing for the arrival of fans, but in contrast to the first leg, they want to one thing not to do like the opponent: If you have a ticket, you can also enter the stadium.
“Just because someone wears another club’s crest on their scarf doesn’t mean they will be kicked out of the neutral seating areas,” said CEO Hellmann. West Ham had handled this differently in the first leg and denied Eintracht fans access to the stadium or subsequently removed them from the stadium. The Hessians want to be better hosts.
The time after the game is particularly critical for the organizers and the police. Both teams will be at the stadium and then in the city with a large number of fans. And one of the two teams didn’t make it to the final of the Europa League.
Source: HR