England fans along Wembley Way (Zac Goodwin/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)A parliamentary committee has written to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham demanding an explanation for the "appalling" scenes at Wembley around Sunday's Euro 2020 final.
Thousands of ticketless fans attempted to storm their way into the national stadium for the final between England and Italy, leaving police and stewards unable to cope with the surging crowd that Bullingham has labelled "drunken yobs".
The FA have insisted that the stewarding and policing levels exceeded the required level and were greater in number than for any previous event at the new Wembley.
Stories of children being left upset, England defender Harry Maguire's father suffering broken ribs and police officers being assaulted have spread quickly following the weekend.
The FA has confirmed a full investigation into the scenes, while UEFA have also appointed an inspector and could serve England with a stadium ban should the governing body deem the chaos serious enough. Now the government are seeking answers.
Julian Knight MP, chair of the DCMS committee, has written to Bullingham seeking answers as to the planning for such an incident, security numbers as well as a figure as to how many fans broke into the stadium and what consequences they will face.
Bullingham has until July 20 to respond.
Knight said: “I am shocked and appalled by the violence seen at Wembley for Sunday’s final.
“These culturally significant events should inspire the next generation, not leave reports of children being terrified.
“We have concerns about whether the preparations for the event were sufficient and are requesting urgent answers from the FA. Given the situation, what planning had been done for people ‘storming’ the stadium?
“We and the public deserve to know what went wrong and how the FA intends to keep people safer in future.”
