For the second time in a week, the English Football Association has been charged by UEFA over fan behavior while England played at EURO 2020 inside Wembley Stadium.
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The English FA was previously hit with three charges after fans booed the Danish national anthem ahead of the semifinal, shined a laser pointer in the face of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and lit fireworks inside the stadium. The English FA was fined $35,000 by UEFA for those offenses.
Fast-forward four days, and another four charges have come down from UEFA on the heels of England’s penalty-shootout defeat to Italy in the final. The booing of the anthem and lighting of fireworks occurred once again, as did a pitch invasion and the throwing of objects inside and/or outside of the stadium, according to UEFA.
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While there is no specific charge (yet) over the hundreds, maybe thousands, of individuals who were seen breaking through barriers, turnstiles and gates to gain access to the stadium prior to kickoff, those actions remain under further investigation, as do the outbreaks of violence throughout the stadium.
English FA chief executive Mark Bullingham vowed on Monday that a full review would take place into what happened at Wembley on Sunday. Initially, he accused “drunken yobs” of trespassing as they tried to force their way into the stadium without tickets.
It’s an unsavory scene and final note after what was a genuinely brilliant month of football at EURO 2020.