Police from the UK will be in Dublin this weekend to assist Gardaí for the Ireland V England match.
That’s according to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris ahead of the Nations League game this Saturday.
It’s part of efforts to prevent blacklisted English fans from attending the sell out game.
Republic of Ireland will take on England at 5 o’clock at the Aviva Stadium.
Around 49,000 fans are expected to attend the game, with thousands more landing in the city.
Drew Harris says they will not have policing powers here but will observe fans travelling from the UK.
“They will be in our control rooms and if necessary, we can also deploy them with our public order units.
“There is a scheme in England where some fans are banned from international travel.
“Obviously travelling to Dublin, even though it is in the common travel area, still would be a breach of those sorts of bans.
“So that would be for them (UK police) to gather evidence on and pursue that in their own jurisdiction.
“They will have no policing powers. In effect, they are there to observe, assist us and indeed then if we have to deal with a disorder, they may be able to assist us in terms of the individuals. Particularly those fans who may have been banned from international travel.”
The Garda Commissioner has declared this an ‘Extraordinary Event’ and British police have arrived in Dublin to assist in the policing.
Anyone planning on attending the game is advised to use public transport to get there. Only accredited vehicles will be allowed to pass by the Garda cordon.
Throughout the day tomorrow, up to 1,100 Gardaí of all ranks will be on duty in Dublin City, around the Stadium, Dublin Airport and any other associated areas.
Uniformed Gardaí will be assisted by specialist units such as National Public Order Units, Air Support Unit, Mounted Unit, Armed Support Unit and more.
Richard Guiney, CEO of Dublin Town, says Gardaí are working hard to ensure the city will be a safe place all weekend.
“There has been a lot of preparation. Certianly, the Gardaí and and the council have been working on it to ensure that this does go well.
“We have had plenty of major events where that kind of planning goes on behind the scenes and things have worked out very well.
“The UEFA cup final went well and UEFA were quite pleased with how it went.
“It will be a big exercise for them but we are very confident that it will pass smoothly.”
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