FA sack security team after players expressed concerns about safety
FA sack England security team after players expressed concerns about their safety as 50 fans were allowed to gather around the team bus the night before game against Croatia
- The FA have sacked the security team tasked with protecting England’s players
- Several members of Gareth Southgate’s squad expressed concerns about safety
- 50 fans gathered around the team bus the night before the game against Croatia
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
The FA have sacked the security team responsible for protecting England’s players during the European Championship after several members of Gareth Southgate’s squad raised concerns about their safety.
The UEFA-appointed firm G4S had been responsible for securing the entrance to the central London hotel where England are staying before their matches at Wembley, but they have been dispensed with after 50 fans were allowed to gather around the team bus the night before their opening game of the tournament against Croatia on June 13.
Numerous players are understood to have told the FA they felt unsafe during the incident — which also breached the Government’s Covid-19 regulations given the numbers involved — with the crowd only being dispersed following the intervention of the team’s own security detail.
The FA have sacked the security team responsible for protecting England’s players during Euro 2020
Eyewitnesses described the scenes as ‘chaotic’ with incident barriers since installed around the hotel entrance and the area where the team bus is parked. There were no concerns when England stayed at the same hotel before the Scotland game last Friday.
The FA subsequently informed UEFA that they lacked confidence in the tournament-appointed security operation and had brought in their own specialist officers from Hans Global, the company that has overseen security at St George’s Park for almost a decade.
Several members of Gareth Southgate’s squad had raised concerns about their safety
Players were concerned after 50 fans were allowed to gather around the team bus the night before the game against Croatia
UEFA had been covering the cost of providing security for all 24 teams involved in the tournament, but the FA will now pay their own security bill.
The FA had already been planning to bolster security later in the tournament, but now they have opted to bring in Hans Global immediately.
G4S also have a security contract with the FA for other operations, which has not been terminated, but they will no longer be guarding England’s players for the rest of the tournament.
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