Euro 2020 final: Metropolitan Police arrested 49 people for variety of offences
LONDON: The Metropolitan Police made 49 arrests for a variety of offences in connection with the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy here at Wembley.
Earlier, a Wembley spokesperson confirmed a "small group" of ticketless fans breached security and gained access into the stadium before the 8 pm kick-off on Sunday, as per Sky Sports.
In a statement released after the match on Twitter, Metropolitan Police said: "Our policing operation for the #Euro2020 final is drawing to a close. Thank you to the tens of thousands of fans who had good spirits and behaved responsibly. We made 49 arrests during the day for a variety of offences. We will have officers on hand throughout the night."
The Metropolitan Police also confirmed that 19 police officers got injured while confronting the volatile crowd. "Frustratingly, 19 of our officers were injured while they confronted volatile crowds. This is wholly unacceptable. A big thanks to officers across London and our blue light colleagues for their part in keeping Londoner's safe and moving tonight. #Euro2020," added Met Police.
Ahead of Euro 2020 final against Italy, England fans were seen engaging in unruly behaviour at Leicester Square in London. In the videos that surfaced online, a large crowd gathered at Leicester Square. The crowd was throwing bottles around as Leicester Square became the unofficial fan zone for the event.
Hours before the match, people were also seen throwing pint glasses into the air, trees were ripped up, bottles were thrown at windows.
In the summit clash, Azzurri defeated England 3-2 on penalties after the normal 90-minute action had finished at 1-1 and even extra time was not able to break the deadlock between both teams. England had a dream start to their evening as Luke Shaw thumped in a fine goal inside two minutes to light up Wembley. Yet Italy slowly found their feet and midway through the second half, Leonardo Bonucci found the net. On to extra time, and then penalties, where both goalkeepers saved two; history, though, belongs to Donnarumma the victor.