Madrid bar owners fear English 'hooligans' ahead of Champions League final

Bar owners in Madrid fear Saturday's Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham will be a magnet for hooligans as they prepare for an influx of 70,000 English fans.

Employees at bars in the Spanish capital say they fear disorder and are preparing to close their doors early ahead of the final at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano stadium.

It comes as the city braces itself for the arrival of tens of thousands of fans of both Premier League teams - including an estimated 20,000 who'll travel without tickets.

The front cover of Monday's edition of Marca - five days out from the final - simply carries the headline: 'Fear'.

They report the concerns of bar owners and workers in establishments around the two designated fan zones - the Plaza de Colon for Tottenham fans and the Felipe II for Liverpool fans.

One bar owner told Marca that there had been problems previously with visiting fans for Real Madrid's Euroleague basketball matches, let alone a much larger contingent of football supporters.

'We are evaluating whether to close on Saturday and some colleagues in the area have already decided [to close],' they said.

'The security of the premises cannot be guaranteed. We already had problems with 50 or 100 Serbs who came to see the basketball.

'It closes and re-opens on Monday and we are cured in health.'

The manager of the Hard Rock Cafe near the Plaza de Colon said they are preparing to draft in additional security personnel for the days around the final.

'If we normally have one person from a private security firm, from Thursday to Sunday we will have eight,' they said.

'We are afraid that the same thing that happened in last season's semi-final between Liverpool and Roma. And that is why we have strengthened ourselves.'

Most of the local concern appears to be around the 20,000 or so Liverpool and Spurs fans that will not have tickets for the final and issues of overcrowding.

One hotel manager in the Goya area was quoted by Marca as saying: 'I think that if some 60,000 or 70,000 fans are going to come, the Felipe II square and the Plaza de Colon are very small.'

Despite the fears of hooliganism, bar owners are preparing to buy in extra supplies of beer to slake the thirst of the English visitors.

One bar manager said: 'Normally we use two barrels per week, but for Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week we have planned an order of three barrels each day so in total there will be nine.'