Bruges mayor expects Rangers invasion for Champions League showdown as Scots cops asked to help amid bus crisis
Mayor of Bruges Dirk De Fauw is expecting an invasion of Rangers fans for their Champions League shootout with Club Brugge.
And he wants Scottish cops to make the journey to the Belgian city in order to lend their local counterparts a hand.
Russell Martin's men face Club Brugge in a £40million play-off with a place in the lucrative league stage of the Champions League at stake.
But De4 Fauw seems concerned at the prospect of thousands of Gers fans descending on the picturesque city without tickets and wants Police Scotland to assist as Belgian officers prepare to meet them in Glasgow.
De Fauw said: "The Scots will receive 1,500 tickets but we are very aware they travel in much larger numbers.
"Several of our local police officers will be going to the first leg in Glasgow next week. They'll be making the necessary contacts with the local police there and asking if some of them can come with us on August 27th because they know the supporters.
"That's always an advantage.
"There's a regulation stating that you're not allowed near the football stadium if you don't have a valid ticket. It's better if those supporters without tickets are spread out in the city centre and not all congregate near the stadium."
And the city also has an unusual problem when it comes to transporting Rangers fans to the game - they have run out of buses. The mayor explained: "It's not as simple as just organising buses.
"During previous European football matches, those buses were badly damaged by supporters and now the bus companies no longer want to assist us.
"So I have asked them to use their oldest buses if necessary, so the transfers can take place because it's far too labour-intensive for the police to march in a procession with 1,500 supporters to the stadium.
"It's quite a trek and there's also a risk of vandalism along the way."
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