European sporting body asks for probe of England fan violence

The Union of European Football Associations (UFEA) governing body is asking for a probe into the violence perpetrated by England fans during the European Championship final on Sunday. 

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that England’s Football Association (FA) were charged with fines due to fans behavior at Wembley Stadium before the game. 

The charges include England fans booing Italy’s national team, a fan running onto the field and fans throwing debris outside the venue and lighting fireworks, according to the AP. 

The new probe comes amid reports of England fans storming through security barriers just to attend the game.

Sixty-seven thousand fans were in attendance during the contest with some seats at the 90,000 capacity stadium being left empty due to social distancing concerns, the AP reported. 

England, who appeared in their first major tournament final in 55 years, fell to Italy in the Euro 2020 final in the penalty shootout portion of the contest. 

English national team Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were subjected to waves of racial slurs and comments online from fans after all three players missed pivotal penalty kick opportunities. 

The FA was recently fined 30,000 euros ($35,000) last week for fans’ taunts toward the Danish national team during a semifinal contest, the AP noted. 

The Hill has reached out to UEFA for comment.