From security to Mattarella’s welcome and post-match: what really happened at Wembley on Sunday
The point of Daniele Meloni
Last Sunday, Wembley. Euro2020 final between Italy and England. The most important match in the history of the Three Lions in the last 55 years, a match that unfortunately had implications, not just football, and that are still making London talk like in Rome for days. Here's how things went on what was an ordinary day of madness in one of the most famous stadiums in the world.
THE MOB ON WEMBLEY WAY
From the early hours of the morning Wembley Way, the long boulevard leading from Wembley Park Tube stop to the stadium begins to fill up with English fans. Soon cans and bottles of beer begin to circulate and many of those present are without tickets. Normally, during the cup finals or when the England national team plays other matches, the boulevard is never too busy and the influx and outflow of fans occurs regularly. This time, however, even before 4pm Wembley Way is a funnel from which you cannot reach the stadium. The Metropolitan Police of London, which in the meantime is also taking care of security in other areas of the city where fans have gathered such as Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square, issues a statement: "If you don't have tickets for the match, stay away from Wembley ". But the fans are not listening. At 5pm Wembley Way turned into a graveyard of broken glass, crushed cans and debris. Fans continue to arrive. With or without ticket. The police and the security service of the stadium do not seem adequate for the occasion, indeed, they seem taken by surprise by the human tide that is going to see the game.
THE ATTEMPT TO ENTER WITHOUT A TICKET
To enter Wembley you have to go through Wembley Way and then go up the stairs leading to the entrances of the various sectors of the stadium. That's where the funnel is formed under the pressure of the throng of ticketless fans. The stewards check the spectators' Covid-passes, but in the meantime the pressure on them rises. At 6pm the situation worsens. The fans push to enter and the police and stewards are unable to stop them. There are kicks, punches and scuffles. Fans already inside Wembley are filming everything. At 18.06 all access to the stadium is blocked for a few minutes: some fans managed to enter without a ticket (in the end, someone will say that over 5 thousand "Portuguese" attended the match without paying). The police arrive on horseback, but at 6.41 am, after the gates are reopened, the situation has not improved: there are simply too many people and many should not even be there. In some areas of the stadium a very long queue forms and there are moments of tension as people pile up on top of each other. To enter the stadium, however, there is a second barrier to overcome: the stewards who stand in front of the entrance doors of the various sectors. Eyewitnesses told The Times that many of the ticketless bribed the stewards with cash. The Wembley press office issues two statements: the first, as soon as the match has started, states that "a security operation is underway outside the stadium". The second admits that some fans "entered without a ticket". The area where he attacks Italy in the first half, in the lower concourse, is the most congested. There are fans everywhere: on the steps, in front of the entrance / exit doors: no one is able to move in the area from 19.30. Financial Times reporter Simon Kuper admits stewards are worried about a new Hillsborough, where 96 fans died before the Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest game in 1989.
THE ARRIVAL OF MATTARELLA
Meanwhile, just before kick-off, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, also arrived. He sits in the stands next to the President of the FIGC, Gravina, and the Italian ambassador to London, Raffaele Trombetta. The representatives of the British state appear rather distant, and not only for Covid. The media did not record any photos and no greetings with the Duke of Cambridge, and the meeting with the Premier, Boris Johnson, took place in the refreshment area of the stadium (as evidenced by the photos and images shown later). Mattarella follows the whole game with the usual aplomb but someone points out the coldness of the welcome: surely if he had been in the presence of Macron or Angela Merkel he would have received another treatment, even if it was not a state visit or a meeting official. The next day some newspapers are filled with epithets and Anglophobic phrases, as if to underline the rudeness received by the English Royals, and remark how Italy has achieved not only a sporting but also a "moral" victory – always slippery territory … – on the England. Perhaps the exchange between Johnson ("we have a longer tradition of freedom than Italy and Germany") and the President himself ("We love freedom but we are also serious") during the pandemic influenced what happened in the Wembley grandstand?
THE AFTER-MATCH
Italy wins and Wembley empties. The work for the Metropolitan Police is not finished, however: in a statement released at 2 am, the "Met" claims to have arrested 49 people and that 19 of its men were injured in clashes at Wembley and other London cheering hotspots. Prince William does not reward the players, but contrary to what has been reported, he remains to attend the award ceremony (the next day Kensington House will have to issue a statement to reiterate it). The compliments to the national team are entrusted to social networks: "Congratulations to Italy", congratulations to Italy, says the heir to the throne on Facebook and Twitter. Gareth Southgate never mentions Italy in his post-match words, but the images show him going to Mancini while the national team coach is still hugging Gianluca Vialli. The Wembley arch is colored in blue and green, white and red. The fireworks start. Italy is European champion and the British accept the verdict of the field. The next day a new fake news comes out: "Italian fans beaten after the game". The images actually show the English fans helping the stewards to stop – even with bad luck – the "Portuguese" who try to enter without a ticket. Opening a door where the sun filters in shows that it was a pre-game episode. The war is over. Italy beats England. After all, it was a football match.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/dalla-security-allaccoglienza-di-mattarella-e-al-post-partita-cosa-e-successo-davvero-a-wembley-domenica/ on Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:08:34 +0000.