- Irish police are laying out their plans to deal with thousands of England fans
- All Garda leave across Dublin has been cancelled for the weekend clash
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Irish police will draw upon their experience of dealing with thousands of stag dos when England visit Dublin this weekend.
All Garda leave across the city has been cancelled around 350 specialist officers will be on duty when for the Three Lions clash with the Republic in the Nations League on Saturday at 5pm.
England have been allocated 2,981 seats at the Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital, while 11,752 applied for tickets.
As reported by Irish media, a major policing plan – named Operation Dearóil – will run from Friday to Sunday morning.
One major area of concern is that large numbers of England followers will travel without tickets to sample the atmosphere, with Friday night a potential flashpoint given the history between the two nations.
Irish police will draw upon their experience of dealing with thousands of stag dos when England visit Dublin this weekend
England have been allocated 2,981 seats at the Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital, while 11,752 applied for tickets
As reported by Irish media, a major policing plan – named Operation Dearóil – will run from Friday to Sunday morning
The relatively late kick-off will also allow for extra time to be spent in the city’s many hostelries during Saturday.
However, sources have disclosed that police, who have been working with their UK counterparts, will take a grown-up approach similar to that deployed at the Euros in Germany, where England’s supporters were largely well-behaved.
A heavy-handed stance is unlikely, although should the need arise officers will be ready to step in. Gardai are well-versed in dealing with large groups descending on the city to drink given its status as a popular destination for those heading on stag trips, including many from the UK.
In 2015, England visited Dublin for the first time since their infamous 1995 friendly was abandoned.
1995 saw a friendly between the two teams in the Irish capital abandoned amid crowd trouble
Lee Carsley will make his debut as England manager in Saturday’s friendly against Ireland
The FA wrote to all 3,000 travelling fans to ask them to behave, and fears of trouble were subsequently unfounded.
Mail Sport understands there are no plans to do likewise on this occasion.
Some of England’s supporters continue to shout ‘No surrender’ during the National Anthem and in Germany some sections sang a song including the lyric ‘F*** the Pope and the IRA’ – which may well cause offence in Ireland should that be repeated.
Fans will be monitored when they arrive by ferry and at the airport, although significant numbers of English hooligans are subject to banning orders which prevent them from travelling.