Live

LIVE: OTB Football Saturday

03:00 PM-05:00 PM

LIVE: OTB Football Saturday
Advertisement
Soccer

'They're scenes you see in town centres at 2am' | Overreacting to Wembley?

Journalist Daniel McDonnell believes that there is a danger of blowing the scenes at Wembley out ...



Soccer

'They're scenes you see in town centres at 2am' | Overreacting to Wembley?

Journalist Daniel McDonnell believes that there is a danger of blowing the scenes at Wembley out of proportion, as attention turns to what action will be taken against individuals and authorities.

Fights broke out inside and outside the ground, as well as potentially thousands of fans getting into the stadium.

McDonnell feels that while these scenes can be 'horrifying', there is a danger in thinking that England is exceptional.

Wembley fans

"Some of this is just a reflection of society as well, without getting too Helen Lovejoy about the whole thing," McDonnell told the Football Show.

"When England were in a final, everything is hyped up and pumped up at 8pm on a Sunday, with everyone coming off the back of a pandemic - it's not exactly rocket science to suggest this could happen.

"Obviously, you can be horrified by what you see and you can ask what this says about society, but the scenes you're talking about there can be replicated at town centres at 2am, maybe even in parts of this country.

"What staggers me is that generally there is a preparation where that is kept from the door. You don't see that out front. How it was allowed when it was pointed out that this had happened during the Denmark game, to a lesser degree.

"It is not as if this was the Champions League final and it was the only big game they'd done in a period of time, they had practically had a number of test events building up to this massive event.

"How they got caught unaware is staggering. I don't what the consequences are going to be; people are talking about the World Cup 2030 bid but the assumption there is that the processes go the most worthy candidate anyway!

"Look where they've been and where they are going, but in rational times you would think that it would be quite damaging for them in terms of punishment."

Football on Off The Ball, with Paddy Power’s SaveOurGame, Donating 10k to Irish football for every goal England score at the Euros.

Download the brand new OTB Sports App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to Off The Ball's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.