Liverpool vs Roma: New safety advice issued to travelling supporters ahead of Champions League semi-final

Liverpool have issued a list of travel advice and safety guidelines ahead of the Champions League semi-final second leg

Liverpool have issued updated travel guidelines (Getty)

Liverpool supporters due to travel to Rome to watch their side play in the Champions League on Tuesday night have been urged not to drink in the street or attempt walking to the Stadio Olimpico.

The club has issued a set of safety guidelines for the semi-final second leg, after two men from Rome were last week arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an assault outside Anfield that left a Liverpool fan in critical condition.

With worries about a reprisal attack, Italian and British authorities have collaborated with the two clubs and Uefa on an extensive security plan for the return leg.

The 5,000 Liverpool supporters traveling to Rome will be constantly monitored upon their arrival in Italy with specific areas specified “to socialise” in the downtown Campo de Fiori and near the Colosseum.

A group of Roma fans attacked Liverpool supporters ahead of kick-off (Getty)

On Monday the club issued further guidance, saying they had “been provided with safety and security advice for supporters”, and advising fans to “respect monuments of national importance” and “avoid areas in the north of the city”.

The full list reads as follows:

• Alight at Termini Station if arriving by train
• Use Piazza Campo De Fiori and Largo Corrado Ricci
• Respect monuments of national importance with a particular emphasis placed on not hanging banners and/or scarves on fountains and statues.
• Be aware that drinking alcohol on the streets will be prohibited. 
• Avoid areas in the north of the city, particularly those in the vicinity of Ponte Milvio Bridge, on match day.
• Use the shuttle bus service from Piazzale delle Canestre, Villa Borghese to Stadio Olimpico. Buses will run from 3pm and there will be a return service to Villa Borghese post match.
• Arrive at the stadium as early as possible with entrance procedures and ticket checks expected to be long and arduous. Entrance gates are expected to open at 5pm.
• Be aware that should the name on a supporter’s ticket not match the name on their personal ID, admission will be refused.
• Be aware that there will be a hold back after the game which is expected to be longer than supporters are ordinarily used to.
• Use the shuttle bus service to depart the stadium unless on organised day trips which will provide their own transportation. Under no circumstances should supporters attempt to walk.

Earlier, Roma's outspoken American president called on Italian supporters to unite in protest following the latest incidents of fan violence involving his club.

“It's time now for things to change in Italy and in Rome, because it is just happening too much,” Roma owner Jim Pallotta said over the weekend.

“It's not just an issue for Rome. It's an issue for Italy and it's an issue for the authorities and it's an issue for all of (us) to band together and to finally wake up so that we don't have a reputation — that's not deserved around the rest of the world — that our fans are not good fans.

“Because our fans are the best fans in the world,” he added. “It's just a couple of ... morons that take the rest of us down.”

Jim Pallotta, Roma chairman (Getty)

Since assuming Roma's presidency in 2012, Pallotta has taken a hard stance against violent “ultra” fans, often calling them “idiots” for instances of racism and protests over security barriers.

The most serious incidents involving Roma fans have come outside the stadium. Like clashes that led to a Napoli fan's death from a shooting before the 2014 Italian Cup final.

Ciro Esposito died 50 days after he was shot by a Roma supporter, resulting in a 16-year homicide sentence for Roma fan Daniele De Santis.

Supporters demanding justice for Ciro Esposito's death (Getty)

That incident came before a match that Roma was not even involved in — although Napoli's 3-1 win over Fiorentina was held in Rome.

At the game in Liverpool, Roma fans held up a banner that read, “DDS con noi,” — DDS with us — in a reference to De Santis.

Now, Liverpool fan Sean Cox remains critically ill in a medically-induced coma.

Sean Cox remains in a critical condition at Walton Neurological Centre (Dunboyne GAA/Twitter)

“These games are great but they're not life and death,” Pallotta said.

“What's going on right now with Sean Cox in Liverpool, that's life and death and that affects his family.”