A detective inspector says there will be a "significantly increased presence" of police at this Saturday's Morecambe vs Bolton Wanderers football match.
Det Insp Adie Knowles told Beyond Radio there will be more police to "reassure people" after incidents at the Morecambe v Bolton fixture last season.
This Saturday's League One game has been moved to a 12.30pm kick-off instead of the usual 3pm.
Bolton sold out their full allocation of tickets for Saturday's League One match in less than half an hour, after being allocated a total of 1,637 tickets for the fixture.
The Shrimps vs Wanderers match on February 5 2022 was marred by a pitch invasion by Bolton fans, assaults on Morecambe fans after the match, and claims during the second-half of the game from Bolton that their players and staff had been racially abused by a Morecambe supporter - an investigation which was later dropped due to lack of evidence.
"Last year we saw a number of arrests made, a couple of assaults occurred after the match outside (the ground) and there was an investigation into some public order offences within the ground," said Det Insp Knowles (below), speaking on his regular Beyond the Beat feature on Beyond Radio.
"As a result of what occurred last year there will be a significantly increased presence of police at the match to reassure people, which is being led by Superintendent Sally Riley.
"We hope the increased police presence will reassure people, and we will be there on hand to tackle any issues that may occur.
"Issues at Morecambe FC are few and far between. It is a family club and there are rarely any issues. But that increased presence in terms of Bolton attending, will hopefully reassure people who are attending."
A spokesperson for Morecambe FC said they will be releasing their supporter safety messaging later this week, ahead of the match.
The League One game between Morecambe and Bolton Wanderers at the Mazuma Stadium last season was stopped for 10 minutes and the players taken off the pitch following a verbal incident involving Morecambe fans and members of the Bolton bench.
Bolton Wanderers claimed that players and staff had been subjected to abuse, which had turned racist.
A man from Morecambe was later arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, then bailed.
Following a nine-month investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service said no charges would be brought due to insufficient evidence.
Bolton fans invaded the pitch after they scored a late equaliser and it appeared that a missile was thrown towards the Morecambe goalkeeper.
Five Bolton fans were detained at the match on suspicion of assault and being drunk and disorderly, with one man later charged with pitch encroachment. Other supporters were also given fixed penalty notices.
There were also reports of two assaults on Morecambe supporters outside the ground after the match; one of which was on a man in a mobility scooter. Police were unable to identify the culprits.
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