Riots in Wembley stands during England-Hungary game

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 9:24 PM• Last update: 23:35

Riots broke out between Hungarian fans and the English police during the match between England and Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday evening. Boos sounded from the box with about eight hundred fans from Hungary after the players of England knelt before the start of the game. Shortly afterwards, riots broke out in the stands, after which the police restored order in the stands after a few minutes.

Before the game between England and Hungary, there was already a bit of a tense atmosphere. During the previous meeting in Budapest, monkey noises were heard from the stands towards Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham. England players were also whistled before the game when they knelt, a gesture to draw attention to racism. As a result, UEFA imposed a match without an audience by UEFA.

The booing while kneeling was again on Tuesday evening at Wembley and turned out to be a reason for riots in the stands. The Hungarian fans also displayed a banner stating that they are not in favor of kneeling before the games. The English public responded by applauding the players’ gesture and using chants to call the Hungarians racists.

It seemed that some of the Hungarian supporters then wanted to leave the box, possibly to confront the English elsewhere in the stadium. Stewards rushed and the police apparently tried to prevent this. The Hungarians then clashed with the stewards and the police, while the match continued at the same time. After a few minutes, the police regained control using batons, after which most Hungarian fans returned to their seats.

“Shortly after the game started at Wembley, officers entered the stands to arrest a spectator for a racially charged incident after remarks were made to a flight attendant,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement. “When the officers made the arrest, there was a minor disturbance involving other onlookers. Order was quickly restored and there were no further incidents.”