FOOTBALL chiefs will close Cardiff’s Principality Stadium roof for the Champions League final to prevent any chance of a terrorist drone attack.
The retractable roof – usually only ever used during bad weather – will be shut for the match and two training sessions to protect against a deadly aerial attack.
Some 15,000 cops including armed officers will patrol Cardiff for the clash between Real Madrid and Juventus next Saturday.
The army will provide extra security at Wembley today for the FA Cup Final, the play offs and rugby final at Twickenham.
UEFA called for the roof closure at the 74,500 Principality Stadium, renamed National Stadium of Wales for the final, after the Borussia Dortmund bus bombing last month, as exclusive revealed at the time by The Sun.
A Football Association of Wales spokesman said: “Following discussions between all stakeholders, the Football Association of Wales (FAW), as the organiser of the event, has made the decision to close the roof of the National Stadium of Wales for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final – the roof will also be closed for the two official training sessions to be held at the Stadium on Friday 2 June.
“The decision to close the roof was taken by the FAW taking into consideration the recommendations made by the authorities over the last few weeks.
“The two finalists have just been made aware of the decision.”
The army is being enlisted to help at four major sporting events this weekend.
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They will support armed officers on the streets of London, the transport network and around both Wembley for the FA Cup Final and play off finals and Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham.
Armoured vehicles will also be deployed to create a visible presence – while covert undercover teams will be working across the capital.
Chief Superintendent Jon Williams said: “Our operation across London is also designed to move around from location to location – focusing on popular areas where people gather and events that may not have previously had a police presence.
“All of this is designed to make the policing approach unpredictable and to make London as hostile an environment as possible to terrorists.
“We are working closely with both the Football Association and Wembley to ensure this weekend’s iconic football matches pass off without incident.
“The focus is the safety and security of fans. Anyone coming to the FA Cup final or the other play-off matches over the weekend will see an increase in police numbers in and around the stadium.
“This will include extra armed officers on foot patrol around the environs of the stadium, and the deployment of police armoured vehicles to support road closures.
“At Twickenham, rugby fans will see more armed officers on foot around the stadium.
Fans are being advised to allow extra time to get into the stadiums this weekend, Security experts say drones carrying bombs are now the "weapon of choice" for Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria.
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