The atmosphere, good child until then, around the London stadium where the final of the Euro between Italy and England is to take place on Sunday, began to become strained as the kick-off approached with projectile throws and supporters without tickets who forced barriers to get closer to the stadium.
The tension rose a notch on Sunday evening in the area of Wembley Stadium, where the Euro final between England and Italy takes place from 9 p.m. Several tens of thousands of English supporters, gathered around the stadium since the morning and some, tipsy, began to throw stones, beer cans, backpacks or even traffic cones in the air at passers-by.
Three Italian supporters have also been attacked by raging English supporters, according to an AFP journalist, as police are deployed in numbers around the stadium.
Most of the Italian supporters who have a ticket to watch the final quickly made their way to the stadium and their seats.
The pedestrian access roads to the stadium are littered with rubbish and broken bottles.
According to images posted on social media, dozens of ticketless supporters knocked down barriers and overwhelmed security personnel to enter the close perimeter of the stadium.
The company that runs Wembley Stadium said in a statement that it “Was faced with an incident which occurred in the outer perimeter of the stadium” and that she had received support from the police. “Security measures were quickly activated in the areas concerned and there are no people without tickets who have entered the stadium”, she assured.
On Twitter, London Police asked supporters not to come to Wembley if they didn’t have tickets because “The area is extremely busy”. “We have agents on site to deal with the crowds and ensure the safety of people”, she clarified.
An AFP journalist also noted that trains full of supporters were leaving Wembley for central London, presumably in order to follow the match in front of television screens.
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