The Giuseppe Meazza is gearing up to welcome Liverpool in the highly-anticipated Round of 16 first leg encounter against Inter. The Italian champions enter this stage of the competition for the first time in a decade, having last appeared in the tournament’s last 16 stage in 2011/12 when they were knocked out by Marseille.
After last week’s news of Inter dwarfing Liverpool with the away ticket allocation for the match – with just 2,180 for the Reds’ support – the Prefecture of Milan has decided to shun the sale of alcohol around the iconic stadium during the matchday.
The encounter will kickoff on the evening of February 16 and chief of the Prefettura of Milan, Renato Saccone, has released an official statement regarding the decision to ban the sale of liquor from 12pm to 12am around San Siro.
“The behavior of the supporters is accompanied and characterized by the consolidated habit of exceeding the consumption of alcoholic beverages which facilitate acts of violence or in any case, if carried out in groups, are capable of generating danger for public safety,” reads the statement. (via FCInterNews)
The decision rings bells regarding supporter behavior after last year’s eventful EURO 2020 final at London’s Wembley Stadium that witnessed English fans create unwarranted ruckus before and after the final loss to Italy.
Incidentally, this will be the first match between an English and Italian club after the disappointing episodes of continental championship final last year.