GREECE: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Liverpool players and fans arrive in Athens for Champions League final against AC Milan

The first of thousands of Liverpool fans arrived at Athens airport on Monday (May 21) on special charter planes heading to the Greek capital for the Champions League final against AC Milan. Some 35,000 fans from both sides are expected in Athens capital for the final. Fans lucky enough to have tickets have come from all over Europe and even some from the United States. They range from the young to the old, including 70-year-old Billy McPallin, a fanatic Liverpool follower who's never missed a match. As many as 15,000 are expected to arrive without tickets. They said they will try their luck with scalpers in Athens, otherwise they'll have to resort to watching the much-anticipated match in local bars. Tickets on the internet have been selling at ten times the price. There are intense security measures in place to keep the two rival fan bases apart. British embassy staff handed out emergency telephone numbers to the fans as they arrived. The British fans were then escorted from a special entrance to waiting buses and onto their hotels under police escort. Under very heavy security the Liverpool team, lead by captain Steven Gerrard arrived at their hotel in northern Athens.

ITN Source | May 22, 2007

Tags:. .british. .young. .special. .place. .against