THE decision to outlaw tailgating has been welcomed by a father whose disabled son’s wheelchair was hijacked by a fan posing as a steward at the Euro 2020 final.
Graham Hiley had been pushing his son, Tim, towards their seats when their day was ruined before the final had even kicked off. Thousands of ticketless fans had gathered outside the disabled section, with only a small number of security staff present to manage the chaos.
Ahead of this weekend’s Carabao Cup final, entering a football match without a ticket will become a criminal offence, punishable by a £1,000 fine and a potential ban. The change comes as a major relief to Hiley, following his experience at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
The Solent University lecturer explained: “I’m staggered why it wasn’t a criminal offence already; this law should have been in place before.
“People might have an image of a cheeky chappy trying his luck to get into the Euro 2020 final but after examples like Hillsborough this is totally unacceptable, it was absolute mayhem”
Outside the stadium was complete mayhem for Graham and Tim with thousands of supporters without tickets forcing their way in, climbing over fences and overwhelming the limited number of stewards.
By the time they reached the disabled entrance, hundreds of ticketless fans had gathered, meaning they could not even get near the door. The entry point operated an “airlock” system, designed to open and close between groups, but it quickly became a target for fans looking to exploit a weakness.
After waiting 20 minutes, a man posing as a steward approached and appeared to help guide them through the crowd. However, the individual, dressed in orange, took control of Tim’s wheelchair and attempted to use it to gain entry.
It was only when the man refused to return the wheelchair that Graham realised he was not a legitimate steward.
Moments later, the situation spiralled further as the airlock system failed and a surge of fans pushed through, with only a handful of untrained security staff trying to hold them back.
“It was like a scene out of Game of Thrones,” Hiley said. “There were people running everywhere it was terrifying.”
He described how one man who had crutches, was trampled on by the mob of people who had no remorse or care in the world
“You couldn’t even take your phone out because you thought it would be nicked,” he added. “When we finally got to our seats, we didn’t want to leave them. Tim was even worried about going to the toilet.”
As there were so many ticketless fans roaming around, attempting to take seats from paying supporters.
The introduction of stricter measures comes after widespread criticism of the security failures at Wembley during the Euro 2020 final, where thousands of ticketless fans gained entry to the stadium. The scenes raised serious concerns about supporter safety, particularly for vulnerable groups, including disabled fans.
Football authorities and law enforcement have also pledged to increase security presence and improve crowd management strategies to prevent a repeat of the disorder seen at Wembley. The introduction of these measures signals a shift towards prioritising fan safety over the previously lax enforcement that allowed tailgating to become widespread.
For Hiley, the changes are a step in the right direction after an experience that left both him and his son shaken. What should have been a memorable occasion quickly turned into one of fear and uncertainty.
Now, he hopes the new rules will ensure that no other supporter has to go through the same ordeal.
After a day that was meant to be unforgettable for the right reasons, Hiley believes the crackdown on tailgating is long overdue and that it should finally put an end to the kind of chaos that ruined the experience at Wembley for him and his son.
