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Two arrested on suspicion of helping ticketless fans storm Euros final

PA News

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of stealing items that helped hoards of ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium on the night of the Euro 2020 final, the Metropolitan Police has said.

The suspects, both aged 18, are suspected of taking the 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 were allegedly stolen.

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

The Met 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 told the PA news agency.

By half-time the situation had calmed down but at one point around 300 people were trying to get through, they told PA.

Some of the people inside Wembley said there had been fans 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.

Italy defeated England in the final (Nick Potts/PA)
Italy defeated England in the final (Nick Potts/PA)

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.


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