More than 50 arrests made at Champions League final

More than 50 arrests were made during Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, with the English Football Association (FA) insisting that security operations put in place for the match were a success as ticketless fans were not able to enter the stadium.

Wembley rolled out the biggest security operation in its history for Saturday’s match, which saw Real Madrid defeat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to lift the Champions League for the 15th time.

More than 2,500 stewards were deployed, and further provisions were put in place as part of a £5m (€5.9m/$6.3m) operations overhaul at Wembley. Despite the enhanced stewarding presence, a small number of fans invaded the pitch shortly after kick-off, prompting the match to be delayed by a few minutes.

A Wembley statement later confirmed that all of the individuals who invaded the pitch had been arrested, with the stadium supporting the relevant authorities to ensure “appropriate action is taken”.

After the match had finished, the Metropolitan Police issued a statement of its own in response to reports that ticketless fans had been trying to enter the stadium.

Met Police commander Louise Puddefoot said that the “overwhelming majority” of attempts to unlawfully gain access to Wembley were unsuccessful thanks to the efforts of officers, stewards and other stadium staff. All fans had tickets checked twice before reaching the turnstiles, which opened four hours before kick-off.

Puddefoot confirmed that 53 arrests had been made – five for pitch invasion and the majority of others for attempted security breaches. This number has since risen to 56, and three individuals have been charged for invading the pitch.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show groups of fans trying to storm entrances at Wembley in scenes reminiscent of the UEFA Euro 2020 final between England and Italy, when a number of ticketless fans forced their way into the stadium.

Puddefoot said that videos shared online showing groups running into entrances ahead of Saturday’s match did not necessarily represent successful attempts to enter the stadium, as she pointed out that there are typically “multiple further levels” of security beyond an initial entrance.

In a statement to Sky News following the final, the FA said: “Our enhanced security operations ensured that these incidents were dealt with robustly and swiftly.

“These attempts to get into the stadium without tickets were not successful and the new outer perimeter system at Wembley worked.”

In November, a trio of key priorities were identified to improve security at Wembley in the wake of events surrounding the Euro 2020 final. In December 2021, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham apologised for the “terrible experience” many suffered within Wembley.

An independent review stated the “appalling scenes of disorder” which marred the Euro 2020 final came “perilously close to putting lives at risk”.

Wembley will be a host venue during UEFA Euro 2028, which England will co-host alongside Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.