Launch of football thug crackdown

Officers will be on patrol at Manchester Airport

Police are set to patrol airports in a bid to prevent football hooligans from flying to Istanbul for the Champions League final.

Officers from the Greater Manchester and Merseyside forces will be on patrol at local airports, monitoring flights ahead of Wednesday's match.

Detectives will check on fans who have a known record of football violence.

They say they want to ensure the safety of fans who make the trip legitimately to watch AC Milan play Liverpool.

They particularly aim to prevent those who are known to be the subject of a football banning order from travelling to Istanbul.

The Turkish authorities say they will be checking that supporters arriving have tickets - If they don't they run the risk of being sent home Ch Supt Dave Lewis Merseyside Police

The initiative, called Operation Buffalo, will take place from Sunday until Wednesday.

It is being run by officers from Greater Manchester Police's football intelligence unit with other agencies, including the National Criminal Intelligence Service, Merseyside Police and uniformed officers based at the airport.

Ch Supt Dave Lewis of Merseyside Police said: "All of the tickets for the match have now been allocated and I'd advise anyone without a ticket not to travel.

"The Turkish authorities say they will be checking that supporters arriving have tickets. If they don't they run the risk of being sent home."

Liverpool have been allocated 20,000 tickets, which is 3,000 fewer than the number of season ticket holders at Anfield.

Black market

And there are fears that fans may make the journey hoping to pick up a black market ticket, despite police admitting that there is no specific intelligence to suggest a problem with fraudulent tickets.

However, officers in both England and Turkey will be on the alert for black market tickets.

A spokesman for the British consulate-general in Istanbul said authorities were optimistic that the influx of Liverpool fans would pass without trouble.

The spokesman, who said there would be a consular presence at major arrival and departure points, added: "The city is no stranger to big events and big football matches.

"The consulate-general has been in touch with Liverpool Football Club, Merseyside police, Uefa and the Turkish authorities to make sure we can welcome all these fans into the city."

Leeds fans deaths

Travellers have been warned not to arrive for their flight drunk as they would not be allowed on to planes.

They have also been told not to wear fez hats, made famous in Britain by comedian Tommy Cooper, as this may result in them offending Turkish people because they were banned in 1925.

Two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death in Istanbul in April 2000.

Kevin Speight, 37, and 40-year-old Christopher Loftus were killed during disturbances the night before their team played in a Uefa Cup semi-final against Galatasaray.