Euro 2020: Harry Maguire reveals father had ribs broken in Wembley final crowd chaos
Met Police says it did not expect people to storm stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.The England defender Harry Maguire has revealed that his father was among the victims of the Wembley chaos, suffering suspected broken ribs after hundreds of ticketless fans breached security barriers and stormed into the stadium ahead of the Euro 2020 final.
The violent scenes, which occurred shortly before kick-off on Sunday evening, were caught on camera and have been widely shared on social media.
It is not known how many people entered the stadium illegally to watch the game.
On Monday, the Metropolitan Police admitted it was caught out by the breach, with deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor saying: “I don’t think anybody was expecting large numbers of people to try and incur into the stadium.
“As soon as it became clear that was happening, stewards reacted very quickly and police were deployed to the stadium to prevent the situation from becoming worse.”
Almost 50 arrests were made in connection with the final and 19 officers were hurt while confronting the “volatile” crowds, the force said.
Maguire, who plays for Manchester United, told The Sun that his father, Alan, and agent Kenneth Shepherd were trampled on by fans who overwhelmed security and ran into the ground through a disabled entrance.
The 28-year-old said: “It was not a nice experience — it shook him up. But he was fortunate as every game he has been to he has had my nephew or one of my kids on his shoulders.
“So I’m thankful that did not happen as it could have been a really serious moment.”
He added that his father had breathing difficulties because of his injuries.
“Things could have been a lot worse but we have to make sure it does not happen again,” he said.
As a result of the chaos at Wembley, Uefa has begun disciplinary proceedings against the English Football Association. Four of the charges related to the match itself, including the throwing of objects onto the pitch and the pitch-invader who interrupted the game.
Referring to the fans who stormed the stadium, Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, said: “There were a large number of drunken yobs trying to force their way in, we run a stadium not a fortress. I have to apologise to any fans whose experience was affected and any of the team who had to cope with this.”
As well as talking about the stampede, Maguire told the Sun that he wants social media companies to do more to clamp down on hate speech, after three of his teammates - Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka - were racially abused online after missing their spot-kicks in Sunday’s penalty shoot-out.
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