Police tell troublemakers 'do not come' to derby

There were clashes at the most recent matches between the two teams

Police have urged anyone planning to cause trouble surrounding the Southampton v Portsmouth derby match to stay away.

The two south coast rivals meet for their first league match in 13 years on Sunday, with a history of violent clashes between fans at previous games.

Managed travel arrangements have been put in place meaning all Portsmouth fans wanting to attend the match will have to travel to and from St Mary's on specially-organised coaches.

Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rowlinson admitted "passions are going to be high" ahead of the match.

The fixture, scheduled for 12:00 BST on Sunday, will be the first league match between the sides at St Mary's since 2012.

The only more recent meeting between the bitter rivals was an EFL Cup tie at Fratton Park in 2019.

Previous games between the clubs have seen violent clashes.

More than 90 arrests were made at Fratton Park in 2004.

Twelve people were jailed following violence in Southampton when the teams met in February 2010.

A man was jailed after he punched a police horse in the head during a confrontation before the match at Fratton Park in September 2019.

Mr Rowlinson said: "There will be a minority, I have no doubt, who will think that their motivation is to come along and cause trouble.

"My plea to those people is don't come and cause trouble - don't spoil it for the majority that want to have a good time.

"We want both sets of supporters to come and have a great time and to enjoy it, but if that is going to tip into unlawful acts, we have got policing there ready to deal with that."

He said additional resources will be brought in from other forces, with specialist officers, drones and mounted police being deployed.

"There are things in place to prevent the possibility fans coming together - I'd ask both sets of fans to respect what the club and police are trying to do.

"I'm confident of the plans we've put in place. There's the right amount of officers on duty."

Train travel to and from Southampton Central station is not possible on Sunday because of pre-planned rail engineering works.

The rivalry between Southampton and Portsmouth fans is one of the most long-standing in English football

Earlier this week, Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said the cost of the policing operation for Sunday's match would be up to £200,000.

Under police funding legislation, football clubs are charged for police officers who are deployed on land that is under their management.

The second league game, which will be held at Pompey's Fratton Park, is currently set for the end of January.