Wembley have released another statement
The buildup to England’s first major final appearance since 1966 was marred by ugly scenes outside Wembley Stadium.
With an estimated 200,000 fans gathering in the area surrounding the stadium ahead of the Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday, several videos were posted to social media showing fans – presumably ticketless – storming barriers in attempt to get inside.
Febrile atmosphere at Wembley. This is near the main entrance to Club Wembley a few minutes ago where it looked like a group of fans broke through the security cordon. Stewards currently chasing people around. Not sure they’ll get all the way to the wine and canapés pic.twitter.com/YTIx8eQLz2
— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) July 11, 2021
Footage showed stewards unsuccessfully attempting to disperse the crowds, who continued to force their way through perimeter fencing.
Security staff were clearly overwhelmed, with the footage also showing a lack of police in the area to help with the trouble.
Police can’t stop the England 🏴 fans without tickets storming the ticket entrances at Wembley – not enough riot police to deal with the weight amount of the crowd – kicking off !!! pic.twitter.com/ZM7KpbMmQJ
— Paul Brown 🇬🇧 Browns fan🏈 London News 🎥Vlogger (@PaulBrown_UK) July 11, 2021
Morons. Doing their best to ruin what should be a proud night and a great occasion. Kid’s crying, Wembley temporarily shut down. Idiots, every last one of them. #ENG #ITA #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/YuJFWLmQ5Y
— Steve Scott (@stevescott_itv) July 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/queennat_35/status/1414281552666808320?s=21
Some tweets suggesting some of the trouble made it into the stands, with Oliver Brown of The Telegraph claiming one of the disabled sections in front of the press box had been invaded.
Estimated 200,000 fans in the Wembley area. Disabled areas in front of the press box now being invaded. Stewarding essentially non-existent.
— Oliver Brown (@oliverbrown_tel) July 11, 2021
Despite this, an initial statement from Wembley Statement played down reports of any trouble inside of the stadium.
“We are dealing with an incident that occurred at the outer security perimeter area of the stadium, with support from police,” a spokesperson said. “Safety measures were quickly activated in the relevant areas and there were no security breaches of people without tickets getting inside the stadium.”
Despite the statement, plenty inside the ground appeared to question it.
Wembley organisation all over the place. There are clearly many more people around where I am than there are seats. Still steady flow coming in from concourses. Some stairwells occupied. Many stewards bewildered. It's a stadium that usually runs well. But not today
— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) July 11, 2021
During the first half, a second statement followed, confirming there had been a breach of security after all, and that a small group of people were able to enter the stadium as a result. The statement added that they would be working with stewards on the inside to determine who had managed to enter without a ticket.
NEW: Wembley Stadium spokesperson confirms “there was a breach of security and a small group of people got into the stadium. We are now working closely with stadium stewards and security to remove these people. Anyone inside the stadium without a ticket will be instantly ejected”
— Laura Scott (@LauraScott__) July 11, 2021
