England fan who stormed Euro 2020 final defends his actions

An England fan has described how he joined the so-called "Wembley jib" - a term to describe breaking through security to see the Euro 2020 final.

He revealed that a chat group was set up for people to share tips on how to get into the match. Hours before the game kicked off, those who managed to get in advised those still outside on where breaches had been made.

The fan, who travelled down from the Midlands for the match, explained how he and about 300 others entered the stadium via an entrance for disabled visitors in block K, with stewards accepting bribes to let people in. He reckons more than 5,000 entered the ground despite not having a ticket.

He said: "I just thought my Dad is 52 and he’s never seen England in a final at Wembley. And it might never happen again in my lifetime. There were 30,000 spare seats, and we didn’t sit in anyone’s seat."

The supporter, who didn't want to be named told the Guardian: “A lot of stewards seemed more than willing to help. We offered one £200 to let five of us in. At about quarter to seven, we were waiting for the steward’s mate to show up and that’s when we saw a disabled door open so we just ran through.

"Every time a disabled entrance was opened there must have been 300 people who got in. And it seemed that every 10 minutes one got yanked open. And that doesn’t count the people who bribed stewards or went behind someone in the turnstiles. I would be shocked if there was less than 5,000 got in without a ticket.

"When we got in everyone was chanting ‘jib, jib, jib’ up the escalators. We found five empty seats. A family came and one of us was sat in their seat, and they seemed a bit moody, but we just moved along one and no one else came.

"We didn’t harm anyone. The people causing the trouble were the ones fighting ticketless fans."

An FA spokesperson said an investigation would take place: "The security and stewarding numbers for the final exceeded the requirements for the match and were greater than any other previous event at Wembley stadium."

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