A Manchester United fan was hospitalized after suffering a stab wound and two were arrested for drunkenness, police said Wednesday, as up to 50,000 United and Barcelona supporters converged on Rome for the Champions League final.
Huge numbers of police patrolled the city, as some 30,000 fans from England and 20,000 from Spain arrived on dozens of charter flights at Rome's airports.
Rome police said that the Manchester United fan was taken to the Santo Spirito hospital after he was stabbed in his thigh in the early hours of Wednesday morning. They did not identify the victim.
The fan reported he had been attacked by four people near his hotel in the Vatican area.
Separately, two United fans were arrested for assaulting bystanders in Campo de Fiori, an historical piazza and popular tourist hangout. Police said the men were drunk despite a ban on alcohol sales imposed by authorities in areas including the city center and near the stadium.
Authorities have been monitoring fans of Rome's local teams amid concerns that they might seek to ambush visiting supporters. AS Roma fans especially were being kept under scrutiny as they clashed with United supporters in Rome in 2007, stabbing a number of them.
Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said that officials had warned leaders of the "ultras," the more hardcore fans, not to create trouble.
With hours to go before the match, fans flooded the city center, snapping pictures at the Colosseum and sporting the colors of their teams.
Hundreds attended Pope Benedict XVI's public audience at the Vatican, waving their flags before the pontiff.
"We need his blessing," said Cristina Bargues, a 15-year-old student from Barcelona, wearing the blue-maroon scarf of the Spanish club.
Among the VIPs expected at the Olympic Stadium for club soccer's most prestigious event were the Spanish royals and Prince William, who was invited by the English Football Association.
Thousands of law enforcement officials were deployed around the stadium and in the city center, at airports and subway stops. Others were guarding Rome's monuments and other artistic treasures. About 1,000 stewards will be deployed inside the stadium, and 30 police officers from England and Spain, some mingling with the fans in plainclothes, will also be on hand to help the Italians.
Security officials say they expect some 5,000 ticketless fans, largely from England, to show up at the stadium, despite the authorities' warning that ticketing arrangements would be strict.
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