The Football Association has acted to increase security outside Wembley stadium after the disorder that tainted the men’s European Championship final last year. English football’s governing body has asked for permission to install new perimeter fencing at the national stadium, following up on one of the key recommendations made in a report into the events of 11 July 2021.
If Brent council agrees to the request – which was made last week by Wembley National Stadium Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the FA – new fencing will be erected at a number of approaches and key entrances to the ground.
The application described the “installation of fencing and roller shutters (B1 and B2 Steps), external alterations to existing Club Wembley, staff, media and VIP entrances and staff fire exit, with perimeter fencing introduced adjacent staff and media entrances (all at Level B2)”.
The new measures, if approved, would directly stop people without tickets from getting access to the stadium, one of the key challenges on the night of the final where thousands of individuals forced their way into Wembley.
An FA spokesperson told PA Media: “We have submitted a planning application to Brent Council for new secure entrance portals around the entry points on our B2 level. These are part of the works we are carrying out, based on the Casey Review recommendations.”
The Casey Review was commissioned by the FA after the events of 11 July and delivered eight key recommendations, one of which was for the FA and Wembley National Stadium Limited to strengthen safety plans, including “physical fences and means of separating and filtering unticketed fans from those with legitimate access”.
The review found around 2,000 ticketless individuals gained entry to Wembley on the day, with 400 ejected. The individuals were found to have gained entry by tailgating or involvement in one of 17 mass breaches of disabled access gates and emergency fire doors.
Those ticketless individuals created the extremely high likelihood of fatalities, according to Eric Stuart, a security expert who contributed to the review. The UK and Ireland are bidding to host the men’s European Championship in 2028, with a decision expected to be taken by Uefa next autumn.
