Euro 2020 final disorder: Ticketless thugs 'could have caused death' at England v Italy game

"Ticketless, drunken and drugged-up thugs" could have caused death as they stormed Wembley before the Euro 2020 final, says a review into the disorder.

The report by Baroness Casey said there was a "collective failure" in planning for the match, which about 2,000 people got into illegally.

It noted 17 mass breaches of disabled access gates and emergency fire doors.

Lady Casey said the "appalling scene of disorder" as England played Italy led to a "day of national shame".

Her report said there was a "collective failure" in planning for the match on 11 July, including a "vulnerable" stewarding operation lacking experience partly because of the pandemic and the police deployment arriving "too late".

The knowledge that about 25,000 of Wembley's 90,000 seats would be left empty because of Covid restrictions contributed to a "perfect storm" of factors.

"Our team of role models were in our first major final for 55 years. However they were let down by a horde of ticketless, drunken and drugged up thugs who chose to abuse innocent, vulnerable and disabled people, as well as police officers, volunteers and Wembley staff," said Lady Casey.

"We are genuinely lucky that there was not much more serious injury or worse, and need to take the toughest possible action against people who think a football match is somehow an excuse to behave like that.

"I am clear that the primary responsibility for what went wrong at Wembley that day lies with those who lost control of their own behaviour."

The Metropolitan Police made 51 arrests connected to the final, 26 of which were made at Wembley, and says its investigation is ongoing.

"Detectives are assessing tens of thousands of hours of CCTV footage, body worn footage and social media clips to identify those responsible for the scenes of disorder," it said in a statement.

In all, there were 90 football-related arrests of England fans at Euro 2020.

Italy beat England on penalties to become European champions.

The review into the disorder on the day also found that:

In the foreword of her report, Lady Casey says: "One of the saddest parts of this process has been hearing the testimony of FA staff.

"While they did not want the England team to lose that night, such was their concern for what might happen in the event of an England victory, they ended up with a feeling of huge relief at the result.

"In the end the penalty shootout went Italy's way, the rain came down, and the crowds dispersed largely quietly. But we should not lose sight of how close the alternative was. And they should never have had to feel that way anyway."

Lady Casey concluded that "law-abiding fans, our national team and our national game deserve better" and that the events of 11 July "can't be allowed to happen again".

She said the absence of fan zones close to the stadium were "potentially a very significant factor" in the situation spiralling out of control, and that the ban on drinking on London transport was not enforced strictly enough.

The national euphoria and focus on the final made fans gathering and disorder "foreseeable" and "there was a collective failure to plan for the worse-case scenario".

Lady Casey wrote: "Finally, the biggest challenge I lay down is around the culture that led some individuals on the day at Wembley, and in the days after on social media, to choose to behave in this way.

"What makes people believe that it is somehow acceptable to break into a stadium or abuse disabled entrances just because it is a big match or there are spare seats inside?

"Why on earth should black footballers be expected to continue to play for their country amid racist abuse from their own countrymen">