Ticketless England fans storm Wembley gates ahead of Euro final

London (AFP) – Hundreds of ticketless fans tried to storm the Wembley gates in a bid to gain entry to England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday.

Footage posted on social media showed supporters battling to get past lines of stewards and police as the atmosphere turned ugly in the hours before kick-off.

While some fans shown in the videos appeared to get past the fences and towards the venue, Wembley officials insisted there had been no breach of stadium security.

A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium: “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.”

The mood outside Wembley was growing febrile well before the 1900 GMT kick-off as thousands of fans gathered on Olympic Way.

Some drunken fans were throwing beer cans and bottles as well as traffic cones, with red flares and fireworks set off.

Social distancing was ignored as maskless supporters congregated in large groups on the concrete approach to the stadium.

England has been gripped by Euro fever since Gareth Southgate’s side booked the country’s first major final appearance for 55 years.

The Three Lions are aiming to win a first trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

With coronavirus restrictions still in place, the final capacity at Wembley has been limited to 67,500, with around 7,500 seats reserved for Italy fans.