England fan ‘drank 20 cans of cider’ before sneaking into Wembley without ticket for Euros final

Charlie Perry was pictured with lit flare protruding from his bottom

An England fan who was photographed with a lit flare protruding from his bottom during rowdy scenes in the build up to the Euro 2020 final claimed to have drunk 20 cans of cider before gaining access to Wembley Stadium without a ticket.

Speaking to The Sun, Charlie Perry said he regretted “nothing” after being pictured in a crowd of England supporters before the match alongside the burning pyrotechnic.

The Chelsea fan, 25, said: “I’d been on the p*** since half eight in the morning and had had at least 20 cans of Strongbow.

“It was the biggest day of my life. There were no rules that day. All I know is that I loved it all. I was off my face and I loved every minute.”

A second photo appeared to show Mr Perry inside the stadium later in the evening.

“Obviously I didn’t have a ticket,” he told the paper. “I had gone in as a gibber [someone who gains access to a stadium without a ticket] before so I knew how to get into the stadium already.”

The builder from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, said: “There were thousands of fans in Leicester Square, the atmosphere was amazing.

“Everyone was fooling around, there was a bit of a competition to do stuff so I just thought I’d put the flare up my bum. It was the biggest day of my life apart from Chelsea versus Man City in the Champions League.

“The flare burnt for about ten seconds or so around the cheeks, I didn’t feel a thing because I was highly intoxicated. No one dared me to do it.

“It was a very irresponsible thing to do.”

Chaotic scenes played out across the capital on Sunday and officials later confirmed there had been “an incident” at Wembley’s outer security perimeter area, where footage showed a crowd of supporters attempting to get inside.

But Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors, who led the force's response to the tournament, rejected accusations that the policing operation had failed.

She said: “I do not accept that the policing operation failed and I stand by the difficult decisions made by police officers and the Met's public order commanders.

”Without their immediate intervention, it is possible that this game could have been abandoned.“

The force said that 51 people were arrested over disorder linked to the final, and that 19 officers were injured, including one who suffered a fractured hand and another who had a tooth knocked out.

The Football Association's chief executive, Mark Bullingham, said on Monday that a full review will take place into what had happened and accused ”drunken yobs“ of trying to force their way into the stadium without tickets.