Wembley Stadium beefs up security for Champions League final

London: Wembley Stadium has significantly beefed up its security operation for the Champions League final on Saturday, intent on avoiding a repeat of...

London: Wembley Stadium has significantly beefed up its security operation for the Champions League final on Saturday, intent on avoiding a repeat of the lawlessness that tarnished the Euro 2020 showpiece.

Real Madrid faces Borussia Dortmund at England's national stadium, where three years ago 2,000 ticketless English fans violently stormed past stewards to get inside to watch their men's national team play Italy in the European Championship final.

The past two Champions League finals have also been marred by problems. UEFA was primarily blamed for security failures in 2022 in Paris when Liverpool and Madrid fans were held in crushed queues. Last year, fans complained of transportation problems accessing the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, where Manchester City beat Inter Milan.

Saturday's final will feature the largest deployment of stewards - 2,500 - in Wembley Stadium history and follows 5 million pounds ($6.3 million) of security upgrades including new gates and perimeter fencing, improved locks on doors, and an internal control room to better monitor fan behavior. Stewards will be wearing body cams.

The Metropolitan Police will have 2,000 officers - including 400 from police forces outside the city - on duty across London. Besides the final, police will be on hand at fan events downtown as well as for unrelated protests.