Madrid plans robust security for final

Madrid will deploy an unprecedented number of police and security personnel for Saturday’s all-English Champions League final, and use a drone for the first time to monitor fan activity.

With Spain’s terror alert set at its second-highest level, Spanish authorities have also banned trucks weighing over 3.5 tonnes from driving near the Wanda Metropolitano stadium which will host the match between Liverpool and Tottenham deemed “high risk”.

Trucks will also be barred from the vicinity of the two fan zones that will be set up in the city centre.

“We will have a very, very robust security apparatus in place to try to ensure everything takes place normally and everyone can enjoy (the match),” the director general of Spain’s National Police, Francisco Pardo, told a news conference Tuesday to outline the security measures for the game.

Some 4,700 police officers and private security guards will be deployed for the match, more than the nearly 4,000 used for last year’s Copa Libertadores final between Argentine rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors in Madrid, a match that was also declared “high risk” by authorities.

“This will probably be the biggest deployment to guarantee security which we will carry out at a sporting event” in Madrid, said Pardo.

Police will for the first time deploy a drone to provide aerial monitoring to prevent fan trouble at a sporting event, which will work in coordination with police helicopters, he added.