Euro 2020 final - Independent review finds 'ticketless, drunken thugs' could have caused death during England vs Italy
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Published 03/12/2021 at 11:08 GMT
The report from Baroness Louise Casey found that around 2,000 people illegally entered Wembley, with 17 mass breaches of disabled access gates and emergency fire doors. Baroness Casey described the events as "an appalling scene of disorder" and a "day of national shame". The review also found that an England victory in the penalty shootout could have caused further risk to public safety.
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An independent review into the disorder at the Euro 2020 final has found that "ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs" could have caused death at Wembley.
England were beaten by Italy on penalties but the game was marred by crowd trouble before and during the encounter.
Baroness Louise Casey's report found that around 2,000 people were able to enter Wembley illegally, with 17 mass breaches of disabled access gates and emergency fire doors.
Baroness Casey described it as a "day of national shame", outlining "an appalling scene of disorder" and concluding that there was a "collective failure" in planning appropriate stewarding and police deployment.
However she insisted that the primary responsibility for the disorder lies with those who "lost control of their own behaviour".
"Our team of role models were in our first major final for 55 years. However they were let down by a horde of ticketless, drunken and drugged up thugs who chose to abuse innocent, vulnerable and disabled people, as well as police officers, volunteers and Wembley staff," said Lady Casey.
"We are genuinely lucky that there was not much more serious injury or worse, and need to take the toughest possible action against people who think a football match is somehow an excuse to behave like that.
"I am clear that the primary responsibility for what went wrong at Wembley that day lies with those who lost control of their own behaviour."
The Metropolitan Police has said that 51 arrests were made in connection to the final, 26 of which were at Wembley.
The report also found that an England victory on penalties could have caused a "further huge public safety risk", with as many as 6,000 further people set to storm the stadium to celebrate.
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25,000 seats at Wembley were left empty for the fixture due to coronavirus restrictions.
The Football Association (FA) has been fined £84,560 by UEFA and ordered to play one match behind closed doors after the unrest.
"We fully accept the report's findings and there are important learnings for us, as well as other agencies involved," said FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, who apologised to those who suffered a "terrible experience" at Wembley.
"Collectively we must never allow this to 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."
Lady Casey recommended a series of general changes in the report to attempt to prevent a repeat:
- Empowering authorities to act more strongly against fans using drugs, flares and smoke bombs at matches and around stadiums and entering stadiums without a ticket.
- A Football Association campaign to force "a sea-change in attitudes towards supporter behaviours".
- Better communication between the agencies overseeing the match and the flow of fans to the stadium.
- A new category for football matches "of national significance" to make organisers aware of the unique challenges of such major events.
The next men's international window begins on January 24, 2022.
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