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England has been ordered to play at least one home game behind closed doors by UEFA after fan trouble inside and outside of Wembley Stadium at this summer’s Euro 2020 final.


 

Thousands of supporters – described as ‘drunken yobs’ by Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham – were able to illegally gain entry to the stadium for the match between England and Italy.


 

As many as 15,000 fans were said to have broken into Wembley without tickets in a remarkable breach of security

It is said valid ticket-holders were left afraid to confront people who had stolen their seats, with the families of England players and the son of Roberto Mancini among those who were taken.


 

talkSPORT host Laura Woods revealed first hand the disgraceful scenes she witnessed before the showpiece, saying it was ‘carnage’ outside the gates of the Home of Football.



 

Tournament organizers UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Football Association on August 3 and issued sanctions on Monday.


 

In addition to the one-match ban on supporters, a further one-game ban is suspended for two years, UEFA said.


 

The police were overwhelmed by the number of fans on Wembley Way before the final


 

England’s next UEFA competition match will be in the Nations League next June.


 

The Football Association has also been fined 100,000 euros (around £84,500).


 

The Metropolitan Police reported on July 14 that there had been 51 arrests connected to the final – 26 of those were while policing events in Wembley, with 25 following events in central London. Nineteen officers were injured during the policing operation.


 

Wembley security cordons were breached by ticketless individuals, and disability access charity Level Playing Field said some of these individuals made their way into disabled viewing areas, creating a “frightening experience” for disabled supporters with legitimate tickets.



 

England fans gathered at Wembley Way hours before kick-off

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors said in her statement on July 14 that officers at Wembley observed early in the day a large number of individuals without tickets.


 

“Police commanders recognized this could result in ticketless fans attempting to get into the stadium, they updated security officials at Wembley of this risk,” DAC Connors said.


 

“To support the stewarding efforts, further highly trained public order officers were deployed to Wembley Stadium as a precaution.


 

“Soon after gates opened, the stewarding and outer security perimeter became overwhelmed and fans began pushing through security checks. I want to praise the quick response by police commanders and those brave officers who confronted these subsequent scenes of disorder and violence.


 

The stadium ban means England will play a non-COVID affected game ‘behind closed doors for the first time

“I am in no doubt that their swift action prevented any further escalation.


 

“I do not accept that the policing operation failed and I stand by the difficult decisions made by police officers and the Met’s public order commanders. Without their immediate intervention, it is possible that this game could have been abandoned.”


 

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin played down fears that the disorder would affect a UK and Ireland bid to host the 2030 World Cup in an interview with The Times last month, and said he saw Wembley as a key venue for UEFA in hosting club competition finals in the future.


 

The FA commissioned an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the match, which is being led by Baroness Casey of Blackstock.