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Euro 2020 disorder 'could have caused death'
"Ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs" could have caused death at the Euro 2020 final as they attempted to storm Wembley Stadium says an independent review.
www.bbc.co.uk
"Ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs" could have caused death as they stormed Wembley before the Euro 2020 final, says a review into the disorder.
The report by Baroness Louise Casey said there was a "collective failure" in planning for the match, which about 2,000 people got into illegally.
It noted 17 mass breaches of disabled access gates and emergency fire doors.
Lady Casey said the "appalling scene of disorder" as England played Italy led to a "day of national shame".
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The knowledge that about 25,000 of Wembley's 90,000 seats would be left empty because of Covid restrictions contributed to a "perfect storm" of factors.
"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."
Italy beat England on penalties to become European champions.
The review into the disorder on the day also found that:
- An England victory in the shootout would have created a "further huge public safety risk" with up to 6,000 people planning to storm the stadium at full-time to celebrate as the gates opened to allow ticket-holders to leave.
- There was "a collective failure" among the organisations who staged the final to plan for the "foreseeable risk" of disorder and ticketless fans converging on the stadium.
- Alcohol and drugs were a key factor in the disorder as fans arrived at the stadium up to eight hours before the 20:00 BST kick-off.
- Planning for the final was hampered by the extra strain placed on authorities by managing the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions and the loss of experienced stewards.
What does the review recommend?
In the foreword of her report, Lady Casey says: "One of the saddest parts of this process has been hearing the testimony of FA staff."While they did not want the England team to lose that night, such was their concern for what might happen in the event of an England victory, they ended up with a feeling of huge relief at the result.
"In the end the penalty shootout went Italy's way, the rain came down, and the crowds dispersed largely quietly. But we should not lose sight of how close the alternative was. And they should never have had to feel that way anyway."
Lady Casey concluded that "law-abiding fans, our national team and our national game deserve better" and that the events of 11 July "can't be allowed to happen again".
She said the absence of fan zones close to the stadium were "potentially a very significant factor" in the situation spiralling out of control, and that the ban on drinking on London transport was not enforced strictly enough.
The national euphoria and focus on the final made fans gathering and disorder "foreseeable" and "there was a collective failure to plan for the worse-case scenario".
Lady Casey wrote: "Finally, the biggest challenge I lay down is around the culture that led some individuals on the day at Wembley, and in the days after on social media, to choose to behave in this way.
"What makes people believe that it is somehow acceptable to break into a stadium or abuse disabled entrances just because it is a big match or there are spare seats inside?
"Why on earth should black footballers be expected to continue to play for their country amid racist abuse from their own countrymen?"
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were racially abused on social media after the game.
Lady Casey recommends a series of more general changes to help 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.
England have been ordered to play one match behind closed doors and the FA fined 100,000 euros (£84,560) by European football governing body Uefa as punishment for the unrest.
UK Sport has denied that England's possible bid to host the 2030 World Cup has been irrecoverably damaged by the disorder.
What was the reaction?
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said that "no event is set up to deal with such disgraceful behaviour from thousands of ticketless fans", but apologised "for the terrible experience that many suffered within Wembley on what should have been a historic night"."We fully accept the report's findings and there are important learnings for us, as well as other agencies involved," he added. Collectively we must never allow this to happen again."
Julian Knight MP, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said: "It is clear that we narrowly averted disaster on a major scale at Wembley. This day of national shame saw the behaviour of drunken and drugged-up thugs put the lives of genuine football fans at serious risk.
"That a collective failure in planning allowed safety breaches on this scale is a grave charge given that the risk was foreseeable.
"We must see action taken by football authorities before we bid for any major tournaments. The DCMS Committee will be monitoring not what is said today but what is done in the weeks and months ahead."
A statement from Brent council said: "We welcome Baroness Casey's detailed and balanced report. This is not about a blame game, this is about learning lessons to ensure that the shocking scenes of Euro Sunday can never be repeated. We will work closely with partners, including the FA and Metropolitan Police, to take forward the recommendations."
'This was dicey... it was scary'
BBC sports news correspondent Natalie PirksI've been to hundreds of matches at Wembley in my two decades of being a sports broadcaster. This was dicey... it was scary. It felt like nothing I've ever experienced before.
I would always have said in the past that I'd take my children to England matches but I was so very glad that they weren't there that day.
It was very evident from about 10am that there were no police around. There were fans that were already drunk and worse, and there was no-one around. It does say in the report the police didn't start getting there until about noon, and at that time there were already a lot of fans on the ground.
From 1pm onwards, given it was an 8pm kick-off, you knew what that would entail in terms of drinking all day - but it was so much worse. Flares going off, drug-taking in the streets, lamp posts being bent over, fighting.
When you go abroad with England, you see certain England fans who are very respectful of the culture, they enjoy being with England and are very respectful generally of the country. The fans that you saw that day are not necessarily those England fans.
What about all the ultras from other countries that cause bother
