Under English law the police can invoke powers which means they can force license holders to put on extra arrangements. For instance - one venue I went to said the police were insisting on 32 stewards for a venue which at it's biggest events normally only uses 16-24. That would mean the venue spending at least £3,000 before a drink is poured.
All the publicans I spoke to when down on Saturday are raging with the attitude of the police. Even the smallest pubs have been warned that if they open they will have to have extra arrangements in place which basically means it won't be worth their while - and even if they do open with all the extra staff and arrangements they can be shut down at any time on a whim.
One pub which has a fire certificate for only 120 punters said that the police were insisting on the following:-
Two licensed stewards (£16-£25 an hour depending upon the company) on the door
All patrons to be body-searched on the way in
Drinks to be served in plastic tumblers
Pub to be cleared of all "moveable furniture" - ie tables and chairs!
The landlord told me that while he thought they were coming on so strong simply to make sure in the end things were handled properly he said that if things remained as they were he would not be opening. Other landlords and managers reported similar.
However, I understand that the publicans and the police have a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) at a licensed premises forum where they hope to thrash out workable plans.
Overall the pub trade in Manchester are not well pleased - one guy said to me - "we're supposed to be trying to become England's second city - how can we do that if we can't handle one football match?"
Likewise, I understand UEFA were not best pleased by the "last-minute" atmosphere surrounding their organisational meetings with GMP and Manchester Council.
At this late stage we all need clarity on what is happening. There is a tsunami of humanity heading towards Manchester and written on the back of an envelope suggestions about trying to dissuade travel by limiting access to pubs and fanzones to those with match tickets simply won't do - it's a recipe for disaster.
GMP appear to lack the PR and organisational skills to cope with the UEFA Cup Final - unless they quickly take on board the operational and PR skills so well-displayed in recent years by Strathclyde Police in their faultless handling of the European Cup (Real Madrid v Leverkusen) and UEFA Cup (Seville and Espanyol) Finals then the potential for a carnival atmosphere in Manchester will be frittered away by this Keystone Kops routine.
Here's a nod in the right direction for the GMP chaps - Chief Superintendent Robin Howe may be able to help - he is the Ibrox match commander and was in charge of last year's UEFA Final. I believe the number of Strathclyde Police may be obtainable by dialing 118118.