30 March 2022

Fans complain of Wembley Stadium bag-drop ‘shambles’ after England match

30 March 2022

Metropolitan Police officers were forced to intervene outside Wembley Stadium after football fans waited for up to two hours to retrieve their bags on Tuesday night.

The London venue had notified punters in advance of a friendly match between England and Ivory Coast that bags “larger than an A4 piece of paper” would not be allowed inside.

Anyone with a bag that did not fit the criteria had the option of paying to store their belongings.

But the policy appeared to catch hundreds of supporters out, with queues stretching around the national stadium late into the night as people waited to retrieve their bags after the game.

Police officers were forced to intervene to return bags to supporters after England’s game against Ivory Coast (Max McLean/PA)

Shortly before midnight, Metropolitan Police officers stepped in and began distributing the bags themselves, walking up and down the queue shouting numbers in an effort to help people make the last train home.

The move came too late for some, with Anthony Swain tweeting: “It was a shambles, me and partner missed our coach home due to waiting two hours for our bag. No trains!

“It’s cost us £148 to stay in the premier inn next to ground. @wembleystadium this is not acceptable!”

Londoner Gemma Currie shared a photo of the long line of people waiting to collect bags and said she had waited for an hour and 45 minutes.

She added: “There’s at least another two hours behind. Come on @wembleystadium this is an absolute joke.”

In the lead-up to the match, Wembley Stadium had shared videos to its social media accounts warning fans about the restricted bag policy for larger items.

There were more than 73,000 people in attendance at the game which finished at about 9.30pm – England triumphing 3-0 after a red card reduced the visitors to 10 men.

PA has contacted the FA and the Metropolitan Police for comment.

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