FA investigating after England fans complain of ‘heavy-handed policing and tear gas’ in Greece

Some England fans have reported facing heavy-handed policing and tear gas as they tried to enter the Olympic Stadium for Thursday’s Nations League match with Greece.

Around 3,000 England supporters had tickets for the game, but many were not inside the stadium in Athens by kick-off.

Some fans told Sky Sports News they were pushed back by riot shields, when they had nowhere to go, as they queued to get through the turnstiles.

The Football Association has said it is investigating the matter.

“We are aware that some of our fans had a difficult experience outside the ground and are obtaining more information on exactly what happened,” the FA said.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) was more critical, accusing officers of creating an “unjustifiably dangerous” situation.

“Unfortunately, once again, we are having to ask England supporters to send in their witness accounts to ourselves regarding the situation outside of the Athens Olympic Stadium,” the FSA said.

“To see the treatment of our fans by local police using shields and tear gas to do something as simple as rearrange a queue, is so incredibly frustrating.”

“On a night where we had a great result on the pitch, there is still clearly so much needed to do off it to ensure our supporters aren’t put in unjustifiably dangerous situations.”

Jack Loftus, from Telford, was among the England fans who complained about the policing.

“They went to adjust the queue at the front to make it narrower and longer, and just did it with force. They were pushing the crowd amongst the fence,” he told the PA news agency.

England secured a 3-0 victory in Athens, moving them top of Group B2 in the Nations League ahead of the final round of fixtures.

They avenged Greece’s surprise 2-1 win at Wembley earlier in the tournament in October.

Read more from Sky News:
Donald Trump gives RFK Jr a top job
The Kinks and The Who producer dies at 87

England’s next game, and Lee Carsley’s last in charge before Thomas Tuchel takes over, sees the Republic of Ireland visit Wembley on Sunday.