The Metropolitan Police has admitted it was unprepared for the number of people who had come to Wembley for the European Championship Final without tickets, following a large-scale break in to the venue.
Hundreds of people without tickets managed to force their way in to the stadium, with stewards overpowered and video footage showing scenes of violence and intimidation.
Speaking after the event, deputy chief commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Laurence Taylor said the force had urged anyone without tickets not to come down to Wembley. He added: “I don’t think anybody was expecting large numbers of people to try and incur into the stadium.”
The Football Association has also announced it will conduct an investigation into the breaches to establish what happened and how a repeat occurrence can be prevented. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme a “full review” will be carried out with police to “make sure we can prevent it ever happening again”.
Among the measures it may take are more robust turnstiles and security doors at Wembley. If the best door access control systems in the UK are installed, this could provide an impenetrable barrier and thwart future attempts to break into big events.
An account has subsequently emerged from one of the individuals who broke into the stadium, revealing that the “jib” was an organised action rather than a spontaneous one.
“Pablo” – a pseudonymous title – told the Guardian a group had used the Telegram messaging app to co-ordinate their actions. This included communicating where security weaknesses were found and taking money in an attempt to bribe security guards.
He explained that while bribery worked for some, others managed to gain entry when disabled access doors were opened, providing opportunities for groups to rush through and force their way in.
Pablo said he had been part of a group of nine ticketless individuals who had travelled down from the Midlands to Wembley, all but one of whom managed to get in.
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