Thousands of Liverpool fans have begun descending on Paris ahead of tomorrow's Champions League Final against Real Madrid.
Officials are expecting at least 60,000 Reds to be in the French capital by tomorrow, despite the Anfield club being handed just 19,618 tickets for the match at the Stade de France. Die-hard fans are travelling across the Channel via ferries, planes, trains and automobiles to be at the match.
Among them are thousands from Liverpool, as well as others who have come from thousands of miles away, including the United States. "We had to be here, and started to make plans before the semi-final," said Arash Shahideh, a 57-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"I’ve supported Liverpool all my life, and get to Anfield as much as I can," said Mr Shahideh, who was with his sons, Kia Shahideh, 26, and Ata Shahideh, 23. "We’ve flown over for a long weekend, and all of us have tickets, thankfully. We’re hoping for a 2-1 win for Liverpool."
Liverpudlians Ben Hines, 23, Ben Lee, 22 and Chris McCarthy, 20, had flown into from their home city and were showing off a red flag reading ‘Liverpool FC : Wherever You Go, I Go’. Ben said: "We managed to find a studio to stay in for less than £200 for the weekend, and two of us have tickets so far."
Gap year students Rowan Poudley and Annan Parmar, both aged 19 from Bristol, don't have tickets, but were determined to be in Paris for the atmosphere. Annan said: "Neither of us have tickets, but that won’t stop us enjoying the game."
Around 7,000 police officers, including counter terrorism officers from Merseyside Police, will be on duty in the city tomorrow and The Champs-Elysees, one of Paris' most-visited tourist areas, will be closed to both English and Spanish fans during the afternoon of the game, with no drinking allowed this weekend at either of the city's two major airports.
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Police have urged fans not to buy tickets from touts to avoid "feeling bad" and Liverpool FC say they had contacted social media firms, including Twitter, to close down accounts offering tickets.
Ticketless fans are instead being asked to gather at a specially constructed fan zone in Cours de Vincennes - six miles from the stadium. A number of acts, including Liverpool singer songwriter Jamie Webster and the Lightning Seeds, will entertain up to 45,000 fans at the venue, which is expected to include giant screens.
A tweet posted by Merseyside Police said: "ADVICE TO LFC FANS TRAVELLING TO PARIS FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL | Beware of scammers offering tickets online. Buying a fake ticket could be a costly mistake. Don't get caught out, or you could be left "se sentir mal"!".
A Liverpool FC spokesperson added: "Liverpool Football Club has called on social media companies to close more than 50 social media accounts and groups it believes are actively involved in selling, or offering to sell, Champions League final tickets online. The club has also identified 13 supporters who have offered their tickets for Saturday’s game against Real Madrid for sale online.
"Those fans have had their tickets cancelled, while their accounts are in the process of being investigated further, with the possibility of added sanctions to follow."
They added: "There has unfortunately been an increase in the number of fans being defrauded, online in particular, by fake match ticket offers. If any supporter is offered a ticket online, they should report it to LFC here - and to Action Fraud. Liverpool FC will not stand idly by and watch people try to sell tickets they have been fortunate enough to get access to via the ballot. All reports of ticket touting, or online ticket fraud, will be investigated in line with the LFC sanctions process.
"If a supporter has been found to have offered a ticket for sale online, this could result in a lifetime ban for that individual. The club is also encouraging supporters to be diligent when providing any personal or payment details to persons they do not know. Liverpool FC continues to work closely with Merseyside Police and, where possible, will pass on the details of any supporters who have offered a ticket for sale online."
Despite the excitement, supporters have been warned they could be caught up in transport chaos with strikes and engineering work set to hit the French capital this weekend. French transport unions representing workers on Paris public transport have called for a strike on Saturday with the aim of disrupting travel to and from the Stade de France.
They are angry about staffing numbers and working conditions.
