DEMONSTRATION

Between 500 and 1,000 people are expected to join another anti-Iran demonstration to be staged by various groups under a "Friends of Israel" umbrella, the Frankfurt police spokesman said.

Police have denied an application by the far-right extremist National Democratic Party (NPD) to demonstrate in Frankfurt on Saturday, he added.

NPD supporters, many sporting shaved heads and black clothes, chanted "Solidarity with Iran" and "foreigners out" during a June 10 march through Gelsenkirchen, a city strongly associated with the heavily subsidised coal-mining industry in northwestern Germany.

The German state of Hessen, where Frankfurt is located, employs more than 15,000 police, Freier said, adding that "all of them" could be called upon to help maintain law and order.

He declined to say how many officers would be on duty in Frankfurt on Saturday, but said there would be enough police to cope with any situation.

Winfried Nass, a FIFA organising committee official in charge of stadium security, said the Frankfurt stadium was sold out for Saturday's match.

It was hard to estimate how many Iranian supporters would be in the stands but it could be a big number because of the many people originally from Iran who nowadays hold German passports, he said. Over 65,000 Iranians live in Germany.

Iran lost their opening Group D match 3-1 to Mexico while Portugal beat Angola 1-0. Iran's last Group D match is in Leipzig against Angola on June 21.