More than Bukayo Saka’s deciding penalty miss, the final of Euro 2020 between England and Italy will be remembered primarily for the chaos seen around Wembley stadium before and during the game. Thousands of ticketless fans forced their way – or “jibbed” – into the ground, in the process causing criminal damage and injury to stewards, other fans and themselves. It was one of the highest-profile scenes of crowd disorder since the bad old days of 80s hooliganism, only this time captured in lurid detail on camera phones and by 24-hour rolling news.
That footage – fans stuffing flares up their backsides, hordes descending on the Wembley turnstiles like a deleted scene from the Battle of Helm’s Deep – has proved to be catnip for Netflix, which uses it as the basis for this feature-length documentary. Including testimony from some of those who successfully forced their way into Wembley, the security staff who tried to prevent them, and innocent fans caught in the middle, Attack on Wembley offers a compelling tick-tock of events, from the crowds forming across London as early as 8am right through to the final’s grubby aftermath.
What does go somewhat under-explored here is the cocktail of causes behind the carnage. The after-effects of lockdown – and the pent-up energy uncorked when it ended – is only glancingly touched on, as is the role of alcohol and cocaine in the disorder. The stewards who bravely put themselves in the line of fire are rightly celebrated, but nothing is made of the lax security measures – notably the absence of the “ring of steel” technique usually seen at major sporting events – that allowed ticketless fans to congregate outside the stadium in such vast numbers.
Still, Attack on Wembley does convincingly convey the ugly, feral atmosphere around the stadium that day. Particularly chilling is the testimony of a British-Asian England fan, who says that he dreaded Saka missing his penalty not just because of the result, but because of the hate it would unleash. Almost immediately at full time he is proved right, with racial abuse aimed both at him on Wembley Way, and at Black England players Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho online. A shameful episode in a day full of them.
• The Final: Attack on Wembley is on Netflix from 8 May.
