Harry Maguire's father suffered suspected broken ribs at Euro 2020 final
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has revealed that his father suffered suspected broken ribs after getting caught up in the violence that erupted at Wembley during the Euro 2020 final.
It was by far the biggest game of Maguire’s career so far but he admitted he is glad that his own children were not there in the end because of how unsafe it became due to appalling behaviour of England fans.
The scenes outside the stadium have been likened to a warzone, with broken bottles littered all over Wembley Way, while hundreds of fans without tickets stormed past stewards and security to get inside, leading to more violence and unsafe conditions.
Plenty of innocent bystanders, Maguire’s dad Alan among them, got caught up in it and were injured by the actions of the mindless idiots.
“My dad was in the stampede. I have not spoken with him too much but I am pleased my kids didn’t go to the game,” Maguire told The Sun.
“It was scary – he said he was scared and I don’t want anyone to experience that at a football match. I have seen a lot of videos and have spoken to Dad and my family. It was my dad and agent who suffered the most.
“It was not a nice experience – it shook him up. But he was fortunate as every game he has been to, he has had my nephew or one of my kids on his shoulders. So I’m thankful that did not happen as it could have been a really serious moment.”
These first hand accounts of violence and disorder at Wembley on Sunday are sickening. The whole episode begs so many questions about how this was allowed to happen at one of the premier stadia in world football. This story is far from over... https://t.co/8btOR89GWW
— Jacqui Oatley (@JacquiOatley) July 13, 2021
Maguire explained how ticketless fans sat in seats in the section where the friends and families of England players should have been. A member of one player’s family described a similar ‘horrendous’ experience to The Athletic, revealing that they felt ‘very, very threatened’.
“It was dangerous. There were blokes snatching people’s tickets as they took them out to be read by the barcode reader,” they explained anonymously.
“Hundred stormed the area where we were. I don’t know whether they were organised or just spasmodic groups, but they stormed the area. People were getting knocked over. Women were getting knocked over. They came from nowhere and forced a door open. It was like a battlefield.
“When we got inside, they were in our seats – gangs blocking the aisles, stopping you getting to your seats – and they were intimidating everyone. It was ridiculous. The security wasn’t good enough.”
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!