There were chaotic scenes at Wembley Stadium ahead of the UEFA EURO 2020 Final between Italy and England, with reports hundreds of ticketless fans broke in.
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Multiple reports with video showed that drunk and disorderly England supporters repeatedly barged against the barriers, pushing stewards back.
The gates were briefly locked and there were rumours kick-off might even have to be delayed, as they were causing so many security breaches.
An official statement released by a Wembley spokesperson assures “there were no security breaches of people without tickets getting inside the stadium.”
That is certainly not what eye-witnesses from the English, Italian and global media are saying, because Tariq Panja of the New York Times reports “numbers that broke through at least in the hundreds.”
Riot police on horseback were called in, but the situation was already too late, especially after reports that hundreds had broken in for the semi-final against Denmark too.
It’s particularly shocking considering people should not be allowed into the arena without proving their COVID status.
“We were told to move, because the police considered us to be the reason for these people throwing objects, including beer cans,” explained Sky Sport Italia reporters on the scene.
“We were removed, they are continuing to throw things, so evidently we weren’t the issue.”
It appears the breach was more serious than anyone thought. Numbers that broke through at least in the hundreds. pic.twitter.com/qM1ngYzyI8
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) July 11, 2021