Tartan Army invades London ahead of Scotland’s Euro 2020 clash

99

View
comments

Scotland fans are already pouring off sold-out trains in London ahead of the nation’s Euro 2020 clash against England at Wembley tomorrow night. 

As many as 6,000 Scots are expected to descend on the capital by Friday, according to the Scottish Football Supporters Association – while other estimates put the figure at a massive 20,000.

This is despite only 2,800 tickets sold to Scotland fans for tomorrow’s match at Wembley against the Auld Enemy, which doesn’t kick off until 8pm. The stadium has no fan zone and a reduced capacity of 22,500 due to social distancing.

All 32 trains departing Edinburgh and Glasgow for the capital on Friday are fully booked, and southbound services from Manchester are also extremely busy.

All bar one train arriving from Glasgow on Thursday were sold out today, meaning the influx of fans has begun more than 24 hours before kick off.

And with no fan zone for those without tickets at Wembley, questions have been raised about where the droves of fans will go tomorrow – especially as forecasted rain is set to make outside spaces a no-go. 

The rule of six and strict social distancing measures are still in force indoors, meaning those hoping to watch the match from pubs and sports bars to shelter from the downpour could be facing disappointment.

Footage taken at King’s Cross Station showed droves of Scotland fans – several wearing blue football kits – disembarking their train. Several chanted ‘we’ll be coming down the road’, a Scotland Football Team song.

Huge crowds were seen gathered outside the station, with Met Police officers on guard in case the festivities got out of hand. 

Tomorrow’s highly anticipated match marks the first clash between the two teams in four years.  

It is thought that Scotland will join England in taking a knee to protest racial inequality during Friday’s game. 

Following tomorrow’s match, Scotland will return to Hampden Park in Glasgow for the final group game against Croatia on 22 June.

About 12,000 people descended on Hampden to watch their match against the Czech Republic on Monday. 

 

This week, ticketless Scotland supporters were urged to stay away from Wembley for the match – with Sadiq Khan performing a u-turn on Scottish fans travelling down to London.

After previously welcoming fans as a much-needed boost to the capital’s hard-hit hospitality industry, the London mayor said they pose a ‘serious risk’ to spreading Covid.

He urged those without a ticket to avoid travel and ‘enjoy the game from Scotland’.

The mayor’s warning came amid concerns that those without tickets could meet in Hyde Park for a mass party after the match – with London Ambulance bosses putting the potential meet up ‘on their radar’.

London Ambulance Service urged visitors to be sensible with their drinking but said it has ‘no plans’ to have an increased amount of medics on standby, The Evening Standard reports.

Mr Khan said: ‘Scottish fans are renowned around the world for bringing a party atmosphere with them to the big tournaments but with COVID restrictions still in place on both sides of the border, the best thing for fans without tickets to the game or a safe place to watch it is to enjoy the game from Scotland and not come to London.

‘In an ideal world I would welcome the Tartan Army to London for this match with open arms – but with Covid cases increasing, and with so much at stake as we fight this awful virus, I’m afraid that it just cannot be this time, so the best thing to do is not to come to London and instead enjoy the game at home.’

Hundreds of Met Police officers will form a ring of steel at Wembley to prevent ticketless fans accessing the stadium.

There will also be a significant police presence in tourist areas of such as Trafalgar Square, as well as at King’s Cross and Euston stations. 

There are also concerns about Scotland fans infiltrating the home areas of the stadium as tickets are still changing hands on various resale websites.

The police will work with stewards to stop ticketless fans accessing Wembley Way, and travelling fans in the England sections risk being ejected from the stadium.

Scottish Football Supporters Association founder, Paul Goodwin, questioned why there was no fan zone provided for supporters without tickets in London, adding that Glasgow has one that can take 6,000 seated and socially distanced people.

He told The Times: ‘There will be plenty of tartan on display as we like coming down and showing off. The fact we have not been part of it [a major tournament] for such a long time is a factor.’

Sven Lister, part of the Roysth Tartan Army supporters club, said that not facilitating a way for fans to watch the match could bring about trouble.

‘I reckon there will be about 20,000 or so turning out. It just worries me that they’ve not done anything. There’s going to be groups wandering, possibly not getting to see the football, which would cause trouble,’ he told MyLondon.

But Goodwin said that Scottish fans have won awards for their friendliness and good behaviour at the previous two tournaments.

The news comes following disappointment for Scotland fans after their country lost 2-0 in their first match in a major tournament in 23 years, which saw a Czech Republic player score an extraordinary goal from the halfway line.

The game was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow in front of a socially-distanced crowd of 12,000 fans.

The Met’s Deputy Assistant Comissioner, Jane Connors, told Sportsmail the force were preparing to deal with an invasion of ticketless fans for Scotland’s first game at Wembley since a World Cup qualifier five years ago in what will be only their second tournament meeting in 114 fixtures.

‘We anticipate a significant number of fans are expecting to travel to London,’ Connors said.

‘I would urge people: please, only come to London if you have a ticket for a match, or fanzone. There are no alternative sites for fans to gather in large numbers and there are limited spaces in pubs and bars and you could end up missing the game. London is still in lockdown and must observe current Government guidelines.’

Mr Goodwin added that said Steve Clarke side’s defeat by the Czech Republic may have deterred fans from travelling and complained about the lack of a fanzone for the visitors in London.

‘There’s less likely to be a mass invasion as people are feeling deflated after the Czech result, but there will be a few thousand without tickets, that’s for sure,’ Goodwin said.

‘In addition to those travelling, as someone who lived in London for 16 years I know how big the Scottish community is down there.

‘The official allocation is 3,000 so it could be double that or even more. A Scottish fanzone would have helped keep people away from Wembley. Maybe that decision was taken to stop people from travelling.’