FA boss apologises for Wembley chaos at Euro final after scathing review
"Ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs" could
have caused death as they stormed Wembley before the Euro 2020 final, a review
into the disorder says.
The report by Baroness Casey said there was a
"collective failure" in planning for the match, which about 2000
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".
The Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Bullingham has apologised to fans for the "terrible experience" during the European Championship final between England and Italy at Wembley, after the independent review said it was a "near miss" of fatalities.
The July 11 final, won by Italy in a penalty shootout, was
marred by clashes between supporters and officials in and around England's
national stadium, with hundreds of ticketless fans breaching security cordons.
The review said it was "clear we were close to
fatalities and/or life-changing injuries for some, potentially many" of
the fans in attendance after 17 mass breaches of Wembley's gates.
"That this should happen anywhere in 21st century
Britain is a source of concern. That it should happen at our national stadium
and on the day of our biggest game of football for 55 years is a source of
national shame," the review said.
Bullingham said the FA accepted the findings and added there
were "important learnings" for the body and other agencies.
"The FA apologises for the terrible experience that
many suffered within Wembley on what should have been a historic night for the
game," Bullingham said in a statement.
"Everyone at the FA was appalled at the significant
levels of crowd disorder... The review makes clear the circumstances leading up
to the match led to a perfect storm of lawlessness.
"No event is set up to deal with such disgraceful
behaviour from thousands of ticketless fans. Collectively we must never allow
this to happen again.
"Baroness Casey is clear that moving forward, where
there is an event of national significance, we and all agencies must view it
through a different lens."
Major disaster avoided
Julian Knight, chair of the British Parliament's Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said that a major disaster was narrowly
averted.
"This day of national shame saw the behaviour of
drunken and drugged-up thugs put the lives of genuine football fans at serious
risk," he said.
"That a collective failure in planning allowed safety
breaches on this scale is a grave charge given that the risk was foreseeable.
"Baroness Casey says our national game deserves better
and has made a number of strong recommendations to ensure that scenes like this
are never witnessed again.
"However, 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."
European football's governing body ordered England to play
two home games in UEFA competitions without fans, with the second suspended for
a period of two years, while the FA was fined 100,000 euros ($NZ167,000).
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