<
>

England's Maguire says father suffered rib injuries in Wembley 'stampede'

England defender Harry Maguire said his father was left with rib injuries and struggled to breathe after being trampled by fans during crowd disturbances at Wembley Stadium before the Euro 2020 final against Italy.

Supporters clashed with each other and officials, breached security cordons and charged into the perimeter area of Wembley before the start of Sunday's game, which Italy won in a penalty shootout.

British police said 19 of its officers were injured while 86 people, including 53 at the venue, were arrested.

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access

European soccer's governing body UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings and charged England's Football Association for disturbances.

"I think he was involved in a stampede and suffered a couple of injuries to his ribs. I spoke to him, he said he was scared," Maguire told The Sun.

"I don't want anyone to experience that going to watch football, especially a major final."

The Football Association said on Monday it would conduct a full review into the security breach and condemned the behaviour of fans who forced their way into the stadium.

It is estimated that as many as 5,000 supporters gained access to the stadium without a match ticket. Sources told ESPN that ticket readers stopped working for a period and fans either "tailgated" their way in -- quickly following behind those with legitimate tickets -- or broke in through entrances designed for disabled supporters.

In addition to Maguire, other families of players were affected. A group of Italy's entourage, including the wife of midfielder Jorginho, were moved en masse, while sources told ESPN that the family members of several England players were abused by fans who had forced their way into the arena.

The chairman of the UK parliament's committee for sports issues has asked the head of the Football Association for an explanation of the chaotic scenes.

Julian Knight MP, chair of the parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, has written to the FA's chief executive Mark Bullingham demanding an explanation.

"I am shocked and appalled by the violence seen at Wembley for Sunday's final. These culturally significant events should inspire the next generation, not leave reports of children being terrified," Knight said.

"We have concerns about whether the preparations for the event were sufficient and are requesting urgent answers from the FA. Given the situation, what planning had been done for people 'storming' the stadium?

"We and the public deserve to know what went wrong and how the FA intends to keep people safer in future."

Information from ESPN's James Olley was used in this report.