October 15 – With UEFA reportedly about to rule on whether to punish English football for the disgraceful scenes that marred last summer’s delayed Euro 2020 final when scores of ticketless fans rampaged through Wembley, new figures show that 92 football-related arrests were made at England’s home matches during the 2020-21 season – all but two them at the Euros.
England played six out of seven matches at Wembley on their way to the final in July, which they lost on penalties to Italy. Gareth Southgate’s side also faced rivals Scotland in a group game. The figures for England and Wales said 39 football-related arrests were at the Italy game, 28 at the Scotland tie and 18 at the semi-final against Denmark.
There were “six further football-related arrests involving international teams playing at Euro 2020 at Wembley” with “all six arrests” at the Italy and Spain semi-final, the figures show.
England’s Football Association commissioned an independent review to look into the disturbances at the final when fans fought with stewards and police as they attempted to break into Wembley, causing a national embarrassment.
Appallingly, 19 police officers were injured as security cordons were breached before the game. Video footage showed hordes of hooligans trying to grab a spare seat at Wembley, where capacity had been limited to 60,000 because of coronavirus.
Media reports suggest UEFA could announce its decision early next week with England potentially ordered to play one or two games behind closed doors.
UEFA is investigating to see if the FA violated Article 16 (2) (h) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations which says all associations are liable for a lack of order or discipline observed inside or around the stadium.
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