The England national football team pays with a home match behind closed doors for the chaos that preceded the final of Euro 2020, played on 11 July in Wembely against Italy. The English national team will then remain in the disciplinary spotlight of Uefa which imposed a disqualification for a second match, suspended for two years. In addition, the Football Association will have to pay a fine of 100,000 euros “for the invasion of the playing field, the throwing of objects and disturbances during the national anthems”, with the whistles while the Italian one was being played. The match, then won on penalties by Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri, before the start was marked by chaotic scenes in the immediate vicinity of the stadium and at the entrances, when hundreds of fans without a ticket surprised the control officers, managing to enter, despite the safety lines made up of stewards and agents. Many had occupied the area reserved for the relatives of the players. “Even if we are disappointed with the verdict, we recognize the outcome of this Uefa decision – declared an FA spokesman -. We condemn the terrible behavior of the people who caused the shameful scenes in and around Wembley Stadium at the Euro 2020 final, and we deeply regret that some of them managed to get in. “
The sanction will apply to England’s first 2022-’23 Nations League home game rather than next month’s World Cup qualifier match against Albania, as that match falls under FIFA control. At the end of the game, several Italian supporters were attacked and beaten around the stadium and the metropolitan police carried out 51 arrests. Victim of the evening also the F1 driver Lando Norris, robbed of the clock in a parking lot near Wembley. Also on the occasion of Euro 2020, the FA had already been sanctioned for problems caused by the public before and during the semi-final won against Denmark, including the laser beam pointed in the eyes of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel while preparing for a penalty from Harry Kane.