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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Steven Chicken

Wembley crowd trouble as England fans try to storm stadium ahead of Euro 2020 final

A number of over-enthusiastic England fans appear to have descended into disorder ahead of England's Euro 2020 final against Italy.

A video captured by Birmingham Live's Ashley Preece shows stewards propping up temporary barrier fences against a throng of fans while dozens of fans run up stairs despite attempts to stop them.

Kick off scheduled for 8pm but Wembley Way was packed full of fans by lunchtime with fans apparently unable to wait for the festivities to formally get under way.

There had been reports of similar issues in Wednesday evening's semi-final Denmark with some fans jumping barriers to get into the stadium.

The FA were fined after the game for a numerous incidents of fan misbehaviour including letting off fireworks, booing the Danish national anthem and shining a laser pointer into the face of opposition goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

It had been hoped there would be no repeat of those incidents, so this kind of misbehaviour before Sunday's showcase occasion are particularly disappointing.

A Wembley spokesperson said: "We are dealing with an incident that occurred at the outer security perimeter area of the stadium, with support from police.

"Safety measures were quickly activated in the relevant areas and there were no security breaches of people without tickets getting inside the stadium."

There was similar disorder on a larger scale at Old Trafford in May as Manchester United fans protested against the club's involvement in plans for a European Super League ahead of a behind-closed-doors game against Liverpool.

The fans' incursion into the stadium caused that game to be postponed.

England have not appeared in a major final since winning the World Cup in 1966.

Gareth Southgate's side have defied expectations to get this far in the tournament with Manchester City's Raheem Sterling in particularly excellent form.

Italy are sure to be tough opposition, though, with Roberto Mancini's side emerging as one of the best sides in the tournament right from the opening game.

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