Gibraltar’s Football Association (GFA) has warned Scottish football fans that they could be subject to a “breathalyser test” and refused entry to the stadium before their national team’s crucial Euro 2016 face-off against Gibraltar on October 11 at the Algarve Stadium.
“Anyone noticeably under the influence of drink or drugs will not be afforded entry into the stadium,” a statement on GFA website reads, adding that fans should be “aware that not only is this a Stadium/UEFA requirement but it is also law in Portugal”.
The GFA has not specified, however, what the limit will be for refusal of entry.
According to the Daily Mail, “when English football trialled a breathalyser test scheme last May in a game between Cambridge United and Burton Albion, any fans giving a sample of 70 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, which is twice the legal English drink drive limit, were refused admission”.
Around 8,000 Scots are expected to travel to the Algarve to see what could be a decisive match for the national team’s ambition for reaching the play-off.
As the newspaper points out, “if Scotland avoid defeat against Poland at Hampden and Ireland lose to World Champions Germany, the game will provide the Scots with a chance of making the play-off.”
Scotland is placed fourth in Group D of the Euro 2016 qualification stage, four points behind Ireland.
Only the two best-placed teams qualify for the final stage of the competition, while the third enters a play-off.
