Police Admit Failure to Anticipate Unruly Crowd
Authorities are facing criticism for failing to foresee the chaos during the England vs. Italy Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium, citing “high tensions” and pent-up frustrations due to prolonged COVID-19 restrictions. Senior police officials have acknowledged being unprepared for the large number of ticketless fans attempting to enter the venue.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor revealed that the Metropolitan Police had worked diligently to discourage attendance without tickets, stating, “We spent a lot of time encouraging and asking people not to turn up if they hadn’t got a ticket prior to the event.” However, he admitted, “clearly a lot of people chose to ignore us,” and added that no one anticipated such a significant influx of individuals trying to breach the stadium gates.
