Francisco Martinez, Secretary of State for Security, has confirmed the Clasico will have the biggest safety presence ever seen at a Spanish sporting event.
Speaking to Cadena COPE on Thursday, Martinez stated there would be 1,000 national police offers – double the usual number – and 1,400 private personnel, plus firefighters and municipal police officers, patrolling the Santiago Bernabeu clash between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“The measures will be exhaustive, surely the biggest that have ever been established at a sporting event,” he told Cadena COPE.
“However, it’s also true that this football match warrants media coverage and huge international attention, so we understand that its classification as a high-risk game, something which is common in the circumstances, makes these measures necessary.
“As the level four alert is nationwide, other matches [at the weekend] are included so they will have reinforcements if necessary.
“[The Clasico] isn’t an exceptional case, but it’s true that it has special connotations.”
Spain’s Anti-Violence Commission declared the match high risk due to both the rivalry between Madrid and Barca and the country remaining on level four alert – the maximum being five – following the recent attacks in Paris.
