A STEEL ring of security surrounded the CSKA Sofia - Liverpool football match on August 10, the first of two clashes between the teams being played this month amid heightened emotions because of the Michael Shields case.
Shields, convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years in jail after a May 30 assault on Martin Georgiev, was allowed to watch the match on television while in police detention pending an appeal. His family and fellow Liverpool supporters are insisting on his innocence. The Varna court that found him guilty has released the full text of its reasons for concluding that the evidence was persuasive of his guilt.
At the luxury hotel where the Liverpool team stayed in Sofia, special security was in place, including extra detachments of police.
In the hours leading up to the match, the Interior Ministry implemented strict measures to secure the Vassil Levski national football stadium. About 1500 police were deployed to guard the stadium, and after a security check at 2pm, the gates were sealed for several hours before being opened to admit the thousands of fans attending the match.
Concerns about possible incidents in the light of the Shields case meant that anti-hooliganism measures, on the statute books in Bulgaria for several months, were implemented with particular vigour.
The Interior Ministry announced before the match that no one would be allowed to enter the stadium with bottles, flags with handles longer than a metre, or sharp objects, including pocket knives.
Shields’s family added their voice to calls for calm ahead of the match. His father, Michael Shields Snr, urged Liverpool fans, “Please, please, behave for Michael’s sake”.
Family members told journalists that any misbehaviour by Liverpool fans would aggravate the situation.
Meanwhile, many hoped that the opening whistle and the start of play would take fans’ minds off Shields, and that they would concentrate on the game.
From the outset, Liverpool were the favourites to win, but CSKA Sofia coach Miodrag Jesic put on an optimistic face that his team, popularly known in Bulgaria as “the Reds” could pull off an upset.
“It would be foolish to think that we have something with which we could pose a threat to the current European champions,” Jesic told reporters on Wednesday, “but on the other hand, it doesn’t mean that we will defend with 11 players. Quite the opposite, we will try to attack, and try to play football as we do in every match. We feel no pressure, we can only gain from a match like this.”
Liverpool, the current European champions, have approached all their recent matches with a calculated caution. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was careful to take a less than bombastic approach in his remarks before the match, expressing his team’s “respect” for CSKA.
“They are a better team than the last two we have played. They play good football and keep the ball well, they are quick and compact and have some good players.
“I know that in football, if you think you are the best team, then maybe you will have some problems.”
If Benitez had a genuine concern about the possibility of CSKA achieving a surprise victory, perhaps in the back of his mind was the awareness that Liverpool came to Sofia minus eight players, because of injuries.
After the end of the match, players from the two teams were expected to meet socially, while fans would be escorted separately out of the stadium, with police patrols ordered to be vigilant to defuse any potential trouble. Police were also briefed to monitor any nightspots visited by Liverpool fans.
The second phase of this tense two-part drama is to be played out on August 20, when CSKA are due to travel to Anfield in Liverpool for a return match.