‘Ticketless thugs, drunk and high on drugs’ may have caused the deaths when they stormed Wembley ahead of the Euro 2020 final, one review said.
The report by Baroness Louise Casey concluded that about 2,000 people had participated in the match between England and Italy illegally.
It recorded 17 mass violations of disabled access gates and emergency exits.
Baron Casey described “a scene of terrible chaos” that led to the finale, which Italy won on penalties, became a “national day of shame”.
Her report said there had been a “collective failure” in planning for the July 11 game, including an inexperienced “vulnerable” management operation in part because of the pandemic. and the police deployment came “too late”.
Knowing that around 25,000 of Wembley’s 90,000 seats will be vacant because of Covid restrictions has contributed to a “perfect storm” of factors.
“Our role model team made it to our first major final in 55 years. However, they were defeated by a bunch of ticketless, drunk and drugged thugs, who choose to abuse innocent, vulnerable and disabled people, as well as police officers, volunteers and Wembley staff,” said Lady Casey.
“We are really lucky that there are no more serious or worse injuries, and it is necessary to take the toughest action possible against those who think a football match is somehow an excuse to act. behave like that.
“It is clear to me that the primary responsibility for what happened at Wembley that day rests with those who have lost control of their own behaviour.”
The review also shows that:
- An England win in the penalty shootout would create an “further public safety risk” as up to 6,000 people were due to storm the stadium all the time to celebrate as the gates opened. out to allow ticket holders to leave.
- There has been “a collective failure” between the organizations staging the final to plan for the “foreseeable danger” of disorder and ticketless fans flocking to the stadium .
- Alcohol and drugs were a major factor in the mayhem as fans arrived at the stadium 8 hours before BST kicks off at 20:00.
- Planning for the final was hampered by the increased strain on authorities managing the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and the loss of experienced managers.
What does the review recommend?
Lady Casey concluded that “the law-abiding fans, our national team, and our national game deserve better” and that the events of July 11 “could not be allowed.” happen again”.
She said the absence of fan areas near the stadium was “a very important factor” in the situation getting out of control and the alcohol ban on vehicles in London had not enforced strictly enough.
The excitement of the national team and the focus on the final that caused fans to gather and disorder was “foreseeable” and “there was a collective failure to plan for the worse”. “.
Lady Casey recommends a more general set of changes to help prevent repetition:
- Empower authorities to take even stronger action against fan use of drugs, flares and smoke bombs at matches and around stadiums and entering stadiums without tickets.
- A campaign by the Football Association to force “change in attitude towards fan behaviour”.
- Better communication between match watchdogs and the flow of fans to stadiums.
- A new category for football matches of “national significance” aims to help organizers recognize the unique challenges of such major events.
The Metropolitan Police have said that 51 arrests were made in connection with the final, with 26 of them made at Wembley. In total, there were 90 football-related arrests of England fans at Euro 2020.
What does the football federation say?
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said that “no event has been set up to deal with such disgraceful behavior from thousands of ticketless fans”, but apologized “for the experience”. terrible experience many people endured at Wembley on a historic night.”
“We fully accept the report’s findings and have important lessons for us, as well as the other agencies involved,” he added.
“Generally speaking, we must never let this happen again.
“The lessons learned from this review will ensure that fans have a good experience at major international events at Wembley, as they have for many years.”
England were ordered to play one match behind closed doors and the FA fined 100,000 euros (£84,560) by European football’s governing body Uefa as punishment for the unrest.
British sports have denied that England will host the 2030 World Cup has been irreparably damaged by the disorder.
