A report into chaotic scenes outside London's Wembley stadium before, during and after the Euro 2020 final in July has found a "collective failure" by England's soccer authorities was to blame. 

Louise Casey, the report's lead author and former head of the UK's Anti-Social Behaviour Unit, said the policing of the final "did not sufficiently mitigate the risk of ticketless fans" trying to enter the stadium and that officers were deployed "too late in the day."

The fact there were no fatalities was down to luck, according to Casey, as at least 2,000 fans burst through security gates and fire exits to enter the stadium without tickets. 

Casey also blamed "drunken and drugged-up thugs," who pushed through security lines and occupied areas of the stadium reserved for disabled fans, 

Some 26 arrests were made at the stadium on the night, and 90 arrests of England fans during the tournament. The events on July 11 were described as a "day of national shame" by Casey's report. 

Casey made five main recommendations, including stricter police action against drinking and drug use outside the stadium. 

Five key recommendations

· Strengthen the penalties for football-related disorder, particularly behaviors that recklessly endanger lives. 

· Consider a new security category for football matches of national significance.

· Consider tasking the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) to work with the FA and the event industry to undertake a review of stewarding.

· The SGSA, the events industry, the police and local government agree on a way forward on who is accountable for Zone Ex (the area immediately around the stadium).

· The Football Association (FA) to lead a national campaign to bring about a sea-change in attitudes towards supporter behaviors.

The CEO of the FA, Mark Bullingham, said in a statement released at the same time as the report: "We commissioned the Casey Review to understand what happened on the evening of the UEFA EURO 2020 Final and to ensure we could learn all the lessons needed to avoid this from ever happening again."

The statement added: "We fully accept its findings and there are important learnings for us, as well as other agencies involved. The FA apologizes for the terrible experience that many suffered within Wembley on what should have been a historic night for the game."

Casey warned that if England had beaten Italy in the penalty shoot-out that decided the final of the tournament, an even bigger public order crisis would have occured – likely resulting in death, due to the huge numbers illegally attending the game and pressures put on security measures. 

Italy won the final, its second European Cup, and after the game England's Black players (notably Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka) were racially abused on social media in the following hours and days.

CGTN Europe's multimedia reporter Patrick R Atack was outside the stadium that night and took these photos. Use the right-left arrows to navigate through the gallery.