British police officers have arrived in Dublin to help identify English football hooligans who might attempt to defy travel bans and cause trouble around the Ireland v England match this weekend.
The British officers are to be deployed in Garda control rooms, helping to monitor CCTV footage from across Dublin, and could also work on the streets with Garda Public Order Units.
However, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the British officers will not have policing powers and will just observe fans travelling from England.
"[The British officers] are there to observe, to assist us, and if we have to deal with disorder, they may be able to assist us in terms of [identifying] individuals, particularly if they have been banned from international travel," Mr Harris told The Irish Times.
Gardaí said a significant policing plan and traffic management plan will be in place for the event.
Ireland will be taking on England at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday at 5pm.
As Dublin city and the area around the stadium will be busy, please take a look at our traffic management plan so that you can best plan your journey: https://t.co/u5Cc4TRwMV#KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/F0ivRdxP8WAdvertisement— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) September 5, 2024
Though only 3,000 tickets for the Nations League game at the Aviva Stadium have been assigned to England fans, it is expected thousands more supporters will travel to Dublin to socialise and savour the atmosphere.
The Garda has established Operation Dearóil for the weekend policing operation, which also involves heightened security for the first visit to Dublin by British prime minister Keir Starmer.
The operation has been declared an “extraordinary event” by Garda Headquarters, meaning leave has been cancelled to bolster resources.
The Nations League clash takes place at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening. The last time the sides met at the stadium was in 2015. The game ended in a 0-0 draw and without major incident off the pitch.
The previous meeting in Dublin, a 1995 friendly fixture at the then Lansdowne Road, had to be abandoned when English hooligans caused disorder.
