Caroline RobinsonSouth West
BBCPolice have said they are prepared to deal with any disorder surrounding a Devon derby football match on Thursday.
Ch Insp Victoria Richards of Devon and Cornwall Police said the sold out fixture at Exeter’s St James Park was “medium risk” and a “highlight of the south west football calendar”.
She said: “A small minority of fans may be looking to cause some disorder or antisocial behaviour and we’ll deal with that as we come across it robustly and strongly.”
The Devon derby kicks off at 20:00 BST on Thursday.
Ch Insp Richards said: “We’ve been planning this since August and we’ve worked closely with both clubs and the English Football League to make sure that we’ve got the right operation in place,” she added.
“We’re going to see 8,000 people coming to Exeter city centre during rush hour and that is going to have an impact on local residents and people who work in the area.”
‘Community focused policing’
She said there would be 180 officers and some dog units policing the match.
“We’re policing this in the usual Devon and Cornwall way, with a community focused policing approach,” said Ch Insp Richards.
She said most people attending the match would be there to watch an “exciting football game between two teams that have a lot of local history”.
Reading’s League One draw at Exeter was stopped after a report of a racist comment towards a City player by a visiting supporter on 11 October.
Ch Insp Richards said she did not believe racist incidents had become more prevalent but that people had became more aware of the issue.
“Officials and players now feel confident to report it and they understand that the police will deal with offenders robustly,” she said.
