Some 150,000 fans of Eintracht and Rangers take Seville

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A dozen portable urinals have been placed right on the corner of the Church of El Salvador, the second most important in Seville after its majestic Gothic cathedral.

An aberration that has aroused the indignation of many Sevillians for disfiguring a work of art.

It is one of the tolls to pay so that the capital of Andalusia receives a shower of millions with the arrival of some 150,000 fans of Rangers and Eintracht, the Europa League finalists.

It is the first massive mobilization of fans after two years marked by covid.

The match will be played at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, which has a capacity of 43,000 spectators (reduced to 40,000 for the final).

Each team is entitled to around 10,000 tickets.

UEFA reserved 13,000 seats, sold through its website, the rest being for sponsors and various entities.

The outlook for police authorities is complicated.

Around 85,000 Rangers and 35,000 Eintracht fans will roam the streets of Seville without a ticket despite UEFA recommendations.

Under terrifying heat, a maximum of 35 degrees at five in the afternoon, thousands of fans, especially Rangers, are seen in the Andalusian capital on the eve of the game, this Wednesday at 9:00 p.m.

The Sevillians hallucinate with the Scots, some of them dressed in Mexican hats, an iconography that they consider Andalusian and Spanish to the local stupor.

Since 11 in the morning they have occupied the terraces of the bars of the central Paseo Colón.

The authorities have set up a leisure area for Scottish fans on the outskirts of the city, near the La Cartuja stadium, where they have bars to drink beer and can watch the game on a giant screen.

There, however, there were no Scots this Tuesday.

“Rangers fans don't go to the leisure area of ​​La Cartuja.

They have occupied the center and this avenue next to the river because they had already been instructed, ”the manager of the Kepler bar tells this newspaper.

“We have quintupled the requests for beer, vodka and whiskey.

We open earlier to adapt to their customs and they are amazed with the vaporizers that we have on our terrace.

During Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we have reinforced the workforce as if it were a weekend, ”adds the manager of the establishment while hundreds of Rangers fans consume one beer after another.

Bars, restaurants and hotels make cash thanks to the game, an economic impact that Antonio Muñoz, mayor of Seville, raises to 60 million euros.

In addition, to warn of a projection of the city, since the game will have more than 150 million potential viewers from 173 different countries.

Paseo Colón, Las Setas de la Encarnación, the streets surrounding the Cathedral and the Alameda are the favorite areas for fans to consume alcohol.

Discreetly, riot squads from the National Police are occupying positions.

The police deployment in Seville is certainly spectacular.

5,500 agents from the different security forces, including the National Police, the Local Police, the Police Unit attached to the Junta de Andalucía and the Civil Guard, ensure security in the Andalusian capital.

3,000 of them are agents of the National Police, especially from the Intervention Units (UIP), the riot police, very aware that the night is calm in Seville, after the first incidents with fans occurred on Monday night Scots in La Alameda.

Some have been able to pay up to 2.

000 pounds (about 2,300 euros) for a ticket.

The official price of them is between 40 and 150 euros.

The Eintracht fans have their leisure area in the Prado de San Sebastián, in an area much more central than that of the Scots and where a whole series of recreational activities have been organized.

The police authorities will try not to concentrate large masses of fans of both teams.

“In my bar there are fans of both teams and from what we see they are peaceful.

But as they drink beer, the screams go up," says Javier Hidalgo, owner of the Alcaiza restaurant, near Seville's town hall.

“We have increased our beer sales forecasts and, at the moment, everything is going well, although the night is feared.

They don't stop drinking,” he adds.

In the absence of official data, the first forecasts speak of a record beer consumption in Seville.

The previous record occurred, precisely,

in the other final of the Europa League held in the capital of Andalusia.

It was in 2003, at the La Cartuja stadium.

Then, Celtic lost 2-3 against Porto managed by José Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach won his first European title.

Now, Rangers fans want to win the cup where their eternal rival lost it.

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