A number of England supporters have attempted to force their way into Wembley Stadium ahead of tonight’s Euro 2020 final. Footage shared on social media captured a large group of people being held back by stewards and security staff at the gates outside the stadium, while others appeared to break through.
This evening’s historic match will represent England’s first appearance in a major tournament final since 1966, but the pre-match scenes outside Wembley were nothing to be proud of for the Three Lions.
People were seen attempting to barge through the gates in order to gain entry, with members of staff holding firm in their resistance of the crowd.
A large number of others were then spotted running past security and making their way up a flight of steps towards the stadium.
A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said: “We are dealing with an incident that occured 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.”
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The incident comes after a minority of England fans were criticised for their behaviour during Wednesday’s semi-final win over Denmark.
A laser pointer was shone in the eye of Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as he was preparing to deal with Harry Kane’s late penalty, while boos were heard ringing around the Wembley stands during the national anthem of the visitors prior to kick-off.
Former England striker Gary Lineker urged supporters to avoid disrespecting Italy’s anthem ahead of this evening’s final, taking to Twitter to make his feelings known on the matter.
“If you’re lucky enough to get a ticket for the final, please, please don’t boo the Italian anthem,” said Lineker.
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“A/ It’s an absolute belter and worth listening to. B/ It’s bloody rude, disrespectful and utterly classless.”
It remains to be seen whether England’s heroes will be able to write their own chapter of footballing history with a remarkable win under the Wembley lights in front of around 50,000 fans.
Gareth Southgate’s men will be tasked with downing a red-hot Italy side that has not tasted defeat for 33 matches in a remarkable unbeaten run that stretches all the way back to 2018.
Although the match will undoubtedly be the most important in the career of every England player to date, their manager is determined to avoid the possibility of his side crumbling under the pressure.
Southgate told reporters on Saturday that he is expecting those involved to keep their cool and focus on producing another match-winning performance on the biggest stage of them all.
“We don’t need to be getting them overhyped,” said the England boss.
“There will be enough energy and excitement around the stadium due to the occasion itself.
“We need to keep that calmness that we have had for the whole month. We’ve dealt with it really well.
“The game against Scotland, we were disappointed with how it went, but it was a big occasion for us. Germany was another one and then the quarter- and the semi-final.
“The players have coped remarkably well and I’m certain they will do so again.”
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