Police and stewarding numbers will be ramped up for Sunday's Carabao Cup showpiece between Chelsea and Liverpool, the first major final to take place at Wembley Stadium since the crowd chaos that marred the conclusion to last summer’s European Championship.
The Casey Report into the day of "national shame" at Wembley last July, when thousands of ticketless fans stormed the gates ahead of England's first major final since 1966, slammed the policing and stewarding operation carried out by the Football Association (FA), Brent Council and the Metropolitan Police.
Sunday's final is the first major footballing event held at the national stadium since that day, with all parties keen to show a lesson has been learned amid a concerning rise in fan violence and misbehaviour in recent months.
Additional police and stewarding will be on hand inside and outside the stadium, while Brent Council will enforce a no-drinking zone on Olympic Way. There will also be a significant increase in the amount of sniffer dogs around the ground, with cocaine abuse cited as a contributing factor towards the trouble at the Euro 2020 final.
Councillor Muhammed Butt, Brent Council leader, said: “The iconic Wembley Stadium has successfully played host to countless memorable and historic events over the years. The vast majority of visitors enjoy themselves responsibly but a minority do not and this new approach targets those people intent on causing disorder after drinking heavily on street.”
Fans drinking alcohol in the no-drinking zones will be asked to hand it over to authorities while Brent Council have warned that enforcement action could be taken by police.
