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ARCHIVED - 10,000 Celtic fans went to Madrid and only 2,000 had tickets: this is what happened
Police stepped up their presence in the Spanish capital yesterday for the Real Madrid-Celtic Champions League match
Around ten thousand Celtic fans descended on the centre of Madrid on Wednesday November 2 for the Champions League match up against Real Madrid, although only 2,000 of those who travelled over to Spain from Glasgow actually had tickets.
That meant that there were around 8,000 Celtic fans just wandering the streets of Madrid yesterday, and they inevitably ended up congregating on large central areas like the Plaza Mayor, but also in bars around the city to watch the match on TV.
Due to the sheer number of fans, the and the amount of alcohol they were imbibing, Spanish authorities considered this a ‘high-risk match’, and for that reason set up a special security deployment consisting of police helicopters and almost 50 officers.
On more than one occasion yesterday the riot police had to intervene in the face of the antisocial behaviour of some of the Celtic supporters, though normally it is Rangers fans who cause the most trouble in Spain.
In the end, Real Madrid beat Celtic 5-1 in a disappointing defeat for the Scots. Many of the Madrid bars and restaurants had their outdoor terraces packed up and closed earlier than usual on the express instructions of the authorities, in order to prevent the drinking from continuing into the night.
All in all, it was a more peaceful affair than expected. The biggest problems with Celtic fans occurred on the day before the match, when several Glasgow supporters threw bottles at Madrid police officers outside a bar. The officers responded by charging the hooligans.
Prior to that, some 40 Celtic fans had been kicked off a Madrid-bound AVE train from Alicante for antisocial behaviour, verbally abusing other passengers and rail workers and causing a 52-minute delay.
Image: Archive
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