Live from Euro 2004 - June 9
Security on red alert
Portugal is implementing its biggest ever security plan to protect the European championships, which get underway on Saturday, against unruly fans and possible terror attacks.
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| This 2003 file photo shows the GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana) during a crowd control simulation exercise in at the Jamor National Stadium in Jamor, Portugal. The local semi-military force will be in charge of providing security at at the 16 participating teams' training camps. |
The government has cancelled all police leave during the event and hired 700 new officers for the tournament, one of the world's biggest sporting events.
A total of 20,000 police officers, supported by the military, will patrol the streets during the tournament, with roughly 1,000 officers dispatched to the interior of stadiums during each of the 31 matches.
They will have at their disposal 17 million euros (21 million dollars) in new equipment, including rubber bullets, pepper spray cans and the nation's first water cannon vehicles.
Navy warships will guard the coast while F-16 fighter jets will help patrol the no-fly zone which will be imposed on match days over the 10 grounds which will host matches.
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| Policemen search Television equipment as crew unload them in front of Lisbon International media centre 08 June for the Euro 2004 european nations football Championships in Lisbon. The tournament will kick off 12 June with Portugal/Greece in Porto. AFP Photo MLADEN ANTONOV |
NATO meanwhile has agreed to supply Portugal with AWACS surveillance planes which can detect low-flying aircraft at a distance of over 400 kilometres (250 miles).
Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso declared: "We have means at our disposal which we never had before and we are determined to provide security," he declared.
Portugal is keen to avoid a repeat of the violence which marred Euro 2000 when hundreds of mostly English fans rioted in Belgium.
Fears of terrorism
For the first time at a UEFA event fans will be subjected to alcohol tests if they misbehave before matches and those found intoxicated will be barred from entering stadiums.
Courts will operate round-the-clock to quickly deport troublemakers while room has been made at prisons in Lisbon and second-city Porto, where most matches will take place.
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| Portuguese policemen search and register journalists before a press conference of the Spanish football team at Da Falperra Hotel, near Porto, where Spain prepares for the Euro 2004 nations championships, 07 June 2004. AFP PHOTO/ Javier SORIANO. |
But the main line of attack is to prevent potential troublemakers from entering Portuguese soil.
London has banned more than 2,500 suspected British troublemakers from travelling to Portugal during the tournament and to help ensure the banning orders are respected Lisbon reintroduced full border controls in late May.
Border controls, will stay in place until the final match of the tournament on July 4, to keep suspected Islamic extremists out of the country.
The interior ministry says it has detected no evidence that Islamic terror cells are operating in Portugal however officials worry that extremist groups based in Spain could target the European championships.