Two Wembley stewards arrested for allegedly trying to sell Euro 2020 final passes

TWO Wembley stewards have been arrested in a sting operation after allegedly offering to sell access passes to the final of Euro 2020

Two stewards on duty at Wembley Stadium have been arrested after being caught out in a sting operation by The Sun, in which they allegedly attempted to sell a package to enter the Euro 2020 final, that included security passes, high-vis bibs, and wristbands, for the price of £4,500.

Allegedly, the package had been offered for sale on a Facebook page called UEFA Face Value Tickets Swap and Sell, but unluckily for the two persons running that page, the would-be desperate fans were in fact undercover reporters for Sun on Sunday who subsequently handed their information over to the police.

In an incredible scenario, who knows what might have happened had the buyers been terrorists looking to gain access to the stadium that night, and only serves to highlight the appalling level of matchday security surrounding the Wembley final, the biggest match in English football’s history since 1966, where around 2,500 ticketless hooligans gained entry to the stadium on the night.

In a second sting operation, Sun on Sunday reporters also discovered that the amount of money spent on policing Wembley Stadium has decreased by around 40 per cent in the last two years, with stewards reportedly being paid as little as £8.90 an hour, even with the FA – who own the stadium – reputedly earning more than £1million for each of the seven Euro 2020 matches played there.

An initial advert on the Facebook page had read, “Steward pass available x2 with uniform and pass. Anyone wants to get in I have 2 passes and 2 uniforms and wristbands for you to go in and watch the game”, but then, just hours before the final kicked off, two would-be sellers had reportedly quit.

Messages were then posted on Facebook, explaining how somebody could assume the identity of the two who had quit, accompanied by a photo of a security pass, the yellow bibs, and a wristband, about which, one person enquired how they could change the photo in the pss.

A reply came back from the would-be seller, telling the prospective buyer, “You can print a photo and stick it on. They don’t check like that. It’s not as secure as you think. As long as you got the wristband and pass you’re sorted. Everywhere in the stadium and stands. You can go to the toilet, take it off and go and sit somewhere. All you have to do is show your wristband to two people. Not even the pass. When you get in that’s it. Job done”.

As the two men waited to meet the ‘buyer’ at the arranged meeting point outside the stadium, they were swooped upon by six police officers and taken away, with a police source confirming, “Two men were taken to a West London police station and have since been released under investigation”.

An FA spokesman reportedly said last night, “We are aware of the matter and we are supporting the police with their investigation. We are not in a position to comment further at this time”.

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