Champions League: Real Madrid vs. Marseille is listed as a high-risk event, Spain upgrades security to deal with Marseille fanatics

The first round of the Champions League group stage will begin in the middle of next week. This should have been the top feast that fans are looking forward to, but a piece of news from the French media "RMC Sports" cast a shadow on the showdown. According to reports, the Spanish Ministry of Interior has officially listed Real Madrid's home match against Marseille as a "high-risk" event. Originally focused on the wonderful scenes of the "Galaxy Battleship" led by Mbappe and the return of Marseille to the Champions League, but now they have to face potential safety concerns.

Why is this game labeled as a "high risk"? As the most dominant team in Champions League history, Real Madrid has always been full of home games. However, this time, the opponent Marseille brought additional variables. The away fans of this French team have a reputation for "excessive passion", especially supporters of Marseille, who have repeatedly caused conflicts due to emotional out-of-control. What the Spanish police are wary of is not just order in the field, but also mass incidents that may spread outside the field.

According to the official arrangement, Madrid police will strengthen their guards around the Bernabeu, and police forces will be sent to patrol from the exit of the subway station to the outside of the stadium, and the security procedures for entry will be stricter than before. All efforts are aimed at curbing risks in the bud. The police are waiting for the battle. As early as the 2008 Champions League group stage, when Marseille challenged Atletico Madrid away, serious conflict broke out at Calderon Stadium. At that time, French fans had fierce frictions with Spanish police, and a Marseille fan was sentenced to jail for assaulting police officers. The incident once attracted widespread attention. Now seventeen years have passed, and Marseille has visited Madrid again, and this history is still fresh in memory. For the Spanish Ministry of Interior, similar chaos will never be allowed to happen again.

Apart from the hidden worries at the security level, this game itself is quite interesting. Real Madrid welcomes Mbappe's joining this summer, forming a new generation of luxury attack lines with Vinicius and Bellingham. This not only marks the official start of "Galaxy Battleship 3.0", but also a key battle for the team to start the journey of defending their title and showcase the dynasty of the new era after winning the 15th Champions League championship.

And for Marseille, this is their return to the Champions League stage after two years. As the only club in France that once won the Champions League trophy (1993), Marseille has a special feeling for this event. Fans from southern France have always been known for their enthusiasm and their away cheers are often far superior to other Western European teams, which also adds more unpredictable atmosphere to the game.

Judging from historical data, Real Madrid won 15 championships in the Champions League, making it the king of Europe, and almost every era has its glorious mark from 1956 to 2024. Although Marseille defeated AC Milan in overtime in 1993 and became the first champion team after the reform of the Champions League, it has not been able to reach the top again since then. In the past twenty years, Marseille has mostly stopped in the group stage in the Champions League and has even encountered an embarrassing record of 13 consecutive games. The two teams have met four times in Champions League history, and Real Madrid has maintained a full victory, averaging more than two goals per game.

Although the game is not very suspense in terms of paper strength, the off-court factors have laid more dramatic foreshadowing for this showdown. On one hand is Real Madrid, which has Mbappe and is determined to continue to write glory; on the other hand is Marseille, which has been away from the Champions League for a long time and has high fans' emotions. Whether from the competitive level or the fan culture level, this game is destined to be full of sparks.

Perhaps what fans are looking forward to is Mbappe's debut in the Champions League, or whether Real Madrid can successfully start a new round of championships. But in the eyes of the security department, how to avoid the recurrence of the conflict 17 years ago and protect the safety and order of the football game is the real test of this game.