The police will carry out preventive searches around the Champions League match PSV – Napoli, which will be played on October 21. Mayor Jeroen Dijsselbloem has designated parts of the city as safety risk areas. The municipality is afraid of a confrontation between at-risk fans of the two clubs. The measures will come into effect on Monday afternoon.
This gives the police extra powers. Officers may search people in the designated area without reason, for example to check for fireworks or weapons. Dijsselbloem made the decision on the advice of the police and in consultation with the Public Prosecution Service.
Eindhoven has qualified the match as a ‘high-risk match of the highest category’. The Italian club has received approximately 1600 tickets and they are sold out. The police have information that about 300 high-risk supporters of the opponent are traveling to Eindhoven. Half have a ticket.
“History shows that Napoli supporters seek confrontations with the opposing team,” the municipality said. During previous matches they set off heavy fireworks, committed vandalism and threw fireworks, torches and stones.
Dutch Design Week
The police may search around the center of Eindhoven, the area around the Philips Stadium and a number of important access roads to the city center. The preventive search applies from Monday, October 20 at five in the afternoon until three o’clock on Wednesday morning, October 22.
PSV itself also takes extra safety measures in and around the stadium. The club has not announced exactly what these are.
The visitors of the Dutch Design Weekwhich will be held until Sunday, October 25, must take into account traffic measures and diversion routes around the stadium.