On Tuesday night the derby soccer match between Bogota’s Millonarios and Medellin’s Atletico Nacional will be played, two weeks after it was postponed due to fans from Millonarios killing three fans from Nacional.
The game will kick-off at 7:45pm in the Campin Stadium in Colombia’s capital city of Bogota. The much anticipated match will have 1,800 police officers on duty before, during, and after the game in order to prevent violence, according to newspaper El Espectador.
MORE: Bogota cancels soccer game after fan killings
The police will be strictly regulating fans as they enter and leave the stadium. Each ticket will be verified electronically. Fans believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be denied entry, and children under five must enter from the west and the east entrances with an adult, while all other people over 14 years old must enter from the north and the south sides. Women who are visibly pregnant will not be allowed to enter, and fans will not be able to enter with any plastic or glass containers.
Only the home team fans can bring in fan kits, which usually include streamers or flags, while Medellin’s team can only wear jerseys supporting Nacional.
The Secretary of the Government, Guillermo Jaramillo, called on the fans to follow their teams in peace, to forgive, and to celebrate living.
Violence surrounding Colombian soccer matches has been a widely debated issue since the deaths of the fans from Medellin. Even the Pope has called for peace in these soccer matches. The Pope blessed a jersey from the Millonarios team just last week.
MORE: Pope blesses Colombian club jersey and calls for soccer without violence
Just a few days prior to the killing of the Medellin fans, a Millionarios fan allegedly killed the father of a fan of a rival Bogota-based soccer team, Santa Fe. The police announced the arrest of the prime suspect in the case on Saturday.
MORE: Soccer hooligan accused of murder captured by Colombia police
Nacional has yet to lose this season, while Millonarios have only lost one match, early on in the season. Millonarios rank third behind Cali in the Colomiban league, Liga Postobon, with Nacional leading the league.
Sources
- 1.800 policías custodiarán partido entre Millonarios vs. Nacional en El Campín (El Espectador)
- Millonarios y Nacional, duelo de invictos en El Campín (Caracol Radio)
- Extreman medidas de seguridad para el partido Millonarios – Nacional (Caracol Radio)