Euro 2020 final: ‘Security breach’ at Wembley Stadium as small group of people enters venue
By John Sinnot and Wayne Sterling, CNN
A small group of football fans without tickets breached the security cordon around the venue hosting Sunday’s Euro 2020 final between England and Italy, according to a Wembley Stadium spokesperson.
“There was a breach of security and a small group of people got into the stadium,” the spokesperson told CNN. “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.”
Earlier on Sunday, the English Football Association confirmed the security incident at the outer security perimeter area of the stadium, but that with the support of British police, “Safety measures were quickly activated in the relevant areas and there were no security breaches of people without tickets getting inside the stadium.”
European football’s governing body UEFA also said in a statement that fans without tickets hadn’t entered the stadium, as it condemned “such unacceptable behaviour at football grounds.”
Sunday’s showpiece was the first major international soccer final England had reached since 1966.
However, in a tense final it was Italy that clinched its first major title for 15 years with a penalty shootout win.
In the early hours of Monday, the FA tweeted its condemnation of the “behaviour of a group of people that forced their way into Wembley Stadium before the EURO 2020 Final.”
“These people are an embarrassment to the England team and to all of the true fans who wanted to enjoy one of the most important matches in our history,” said the FA in another tweet.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it had made 45 arrests while policing Sunday’s match.
The organization did not specify exactly what the arrests were over but earlier, police had tweeted they were monitoring fan activity across London ahead of and during the game.
READ: England fined over £35,000 for laser incident
‘People jumping off street lamps’
In central London some fans gathered to watch the final started leaving Leicester Square as people started throwing beers, PA News reported.
“We’ve just come out of there because it was too much. They’re trying to barricade the road and everything,” Thulase Sivasothy told PA News.
“We were just in Soho now and it’s crazy. There’s so much passion in London today,” Sivasothy added.
Another fan, Eric Pinto told PA News: “People are throwing beers. But that’s England, that’s how we celebrate. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to b like if we win.”
Britain’s Metropolitan Police said it had seen “people jumping off street lamps or hoardings.”
“Streets around Piccadilly Circus & Leicester Square are busy with fans. We have officers on hand. We’d urge everyone to keep themselves safe and look out for each other,” tweeted the Metropolitan Police.
Rowdy fans also tried to push their way into a fan zone in Trafalgar Square set up to watch Sunday’s final, according to the Metropolitan Police.
“A large crowd of fans have gathered near to the fan zone in Trafalgar Square attempting to push in without tickets. There are no more tickets or seats available in the fan zone. We’re engaging with this crowd and telling them to disperse,” said the Metropolitan Police on Twitter.
The-CNN-Wire
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Samantha Beech, Jennifer Hauser, Wayne Sterling, Aleks Klosok and Zayn Nabbi contributed to this report
