Thursday, 18 Apr 2024

Two men, 18, arrested for 'helping ticketless mob storm Wembley' at Euro final

Two men have been arrested for helping hoards of ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium at the Euro 2020 final.

The suspects, both aged 18, are suspected of taking unspecified items and sharing them with others to allow them to get in to see England’s showdown with Italy.

Investigators have refused to comment on the nature of the objects that are said to have been stolen.

The pair, from Ilford and Newham in east London, have now been released under police investigation for theft while inquiries continue.

The Metropolitan Police has pledged to investigate offences by fans in the build-up to the game which resulted in a breach of security at Wembley.

Crowds of people were filmed streaming up Wembley’s outer stairwells ahead of the match, which saw England defeated 3-2 in an agonising penalty shootout.

Security were seen ‘rugby tackling people to the ground’, one person inside the stadium said.

The situation had calmed down by half-time but at one point around 300 people were trying to get through, they added.

Some fans inside Wembley complained there had been ticketless supporters standing on the concourse for the entire first half, watching the match.

The Met said there had been 45 arrests by officers on the night of the game.

The Football Association has announced it is conducting a full review into the matter, while European football’s governing body UEFA has appointed an inspector to carry out its own investigation into what occurred.


Among the VIPs in the 60,000-strong crowd were The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son Prince George, the Prime Minister and London Mayor Sadiq Khan and David Beckham.

Despite delivering the best performance of any England side in the European Championships, the days after the match were marred by the racial abuse of some players on social media.

It prompted the Government to announce it is changing the terms of the football banning order regime to cover online racism.

Banning orders exclude people from attending matches for between three and 10 years.

Since the final, five people have been arrested over their alleged social media posts.

As of June 13, 897 football-related incidents and 264 arrests had been recorded across the country in the 24-hour period surrounding the final, according to the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit.

That took the number of football-related incidents during the tournament to 2,344, and arrests to 630.

Announcing the arrests, a Met spokesman said: ‘Two men have been arrested on suspicion of theft following allegations that they took items and shared them, for the purpose of allowing people to have unauthorised access to Wembley stadium during the Euro 2020 final.

‘An 18-year-old man from Ilford, London, and an 18-year-old man from Newham, London, have both been released under police investigation while enquiries continue.

‘The action comes following a commitment by the Met to investigate offences during the Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a breach of security at Wembley stadium.’

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