Moscow waiting for Russia – Belgium results

Today Russian football team plays a match with Belgium, the game is to determine a second participant of the one eighth of the World Cup (there is practically no doubt that Japanese team will beat Tunisia).

As is known, several football matches are to be still televised in large monitors in Moscow. There are four monitors installed in the streets of Moscow: in the Manezh square, Zamoskvoretskaya embankment, Novy Arbat and Poklonnaya Gora. Strong security measures have been taken in the Russian capital. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov assured, disorders similar to that one after the Russia – Japan match on June 9 would never repeat. According to some sources, two thousand policemen will keep up order in Moscow, in places of fans’ mass gathering during the match. Besides, Moscow special purpose police units and mounted police are ready to help the police in establishing order.

Alcohol sale is prohibited in the areas where the monitors are installed. Other drinks are sold in plastic bottles.

There were no disorders at all before the match. RTR-Vesti informed, Manezh square lived its everyday regular life an hour before the game. At that hour there were no football fans near the monitor, the number of policemen in the area was greater that usual.

Some observers say, this time the Moscow police will probably center out on football fans. It is still highly probable that serious clashes may take place after the match, especially if Russia’s team loses the game.

After the riots on June 9 when football fans and police clashed on the Manezh square, Russian Deputy Minister for Internal Affairs Vladimir Vasilyev said, the square was not designed to televise football matches, as it was really problematic to guarantee people’s security in the center of the city.

Sergey Yugov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/06/14/42631.html