Stewards replace barricades after they were knocked over by supporters outside Wembley Stadium in London. Photo / AP
Stewards replace barricades after they were knocked over by supporters outside Wembley Stadium in London. Photo / AP
Unprecedented criminal behaviour at Wembley combined with authorities' "collective failure to foresee risk" caused the Euro 2020 final to become a warzone, a landmark report has ruled.
Scotland Yard faces severe criticism for implementing full policing operation hours later than needed in the 129-page report by Baroness Casey of Blackstock,which explored how "our biggest game of football for 55 years" became "a source of national shame".
Her four-and-a-half month investigation concludes that the FA and Metropolitan Police were lucky there were no fatalities, given "some of what happened was sadly foreseeable, even if the scale of it was not".
"The events at Hillsborough in 1989 have weighed heavily on my mind," she concludes.
In the most definitive account of thousands of ticketless thugs storming England's first major final since 1966, Baroness Casey uncovered horrific accounts from disabled fans, women and relatives of England players.
In one incident, a child wheelchair user was snatched from their father and used to gain entry by a criminal masquerading as a steward.
Mark Bullingham, the FA's chief executive, has issued an immediate apology "for the terrible experience that many suffered within Wembley on what should have been a historic night".
Stewards replace barricades after they were knocked over by supporters outside Wembley Stadium in London. Photo / AP
In a scathing assessment of the events of July 11, the independent review commissioned by the FA found:
* "Although action was stepped up for the final there was an absence of risk assessment for the occasion that Euro Sunday represented" and that "this amounted to a collective failure by partners involved."
* 2,000 ticketless fans stormed Wembley via 17 different entry points, with only 400 ejected. 6,000 more were waiting outside to storm Wembley when doors opened at the final whistle.
* The main police operation began at 3pm, but Brent Council employees and Underground workers were already reporting unprecedented levels of drunkenness by 9am. Almost half of respondents to a fan survey saw drug-taking in and around the ground.
* No individual authorities performed worse than any other amid a "perfect storm". "One of the things that has come through strongest is that no single agency was to blame for what occurred," Baroness Casey wrote. "There was a collective failure to foresee risk."
As a result of the report released on Friday, the Government, Brent Council, the Met Police and the FA are all under fire, while the Home Office faces calls to beef up laws on drug use at football matches.
The review also said had England won the game, a ticketless group of 6,000 people were thought to be preparing to storm the stadium to see the trophy presented.
Casey recommended that the English Football Association leads a campaign to bring about a "sea-change in attitudes" by fans.
An England supporter wears a flag as he walks by a riot police line near Leicester Square. Photo / AP
The insufficient enforcement of the ban on drinking alcohol on public transport in London was highlighted in the report.
"The FA and Wembley, working with others, should step up action on eradicating such behaviours from football... refusing to allow entry to fans who arrive chanting foul abuse and/ or are clearly under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs," she said.
Casey said tailgating should become a criminal offence.
"The existing enforcement mechanisms available to the police and other enforcement officers do not offer enough deterrent against those determined to use the cover of football matches to commit criminal offences," she said.
Players' families were caught up in the unrest, with England defender Harry Maguire's father injuring ribs.
UEFA has already punished England, with a home Nations League game in June having to be played in an empty stadium. A second empty-stadium game was deferred for a two-year probationary period.
"The review makes clear that the circumstances leading up to the match led to a perfect storm of lawlessness," Bullingham said in a statement. "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."
