Euro 2020: Pietersen condemns English fans' behaviour after loss, recalls scary experience

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen condemned the behaviour of the English football fans after Sunday's loss against Italy in Euro 2020 at the Wembley Stadium.

Kevin Pietersen stated that he was feeling scared while walking back to his car with Dylan after the game. "The walk I took with Dylan to get our car home last night was scary absolutely HORRENDOUS! This behaviour in 2021?? The abuse of the players who gave us so much joy?? Do we actually deserve the 2030 World Cup?" he tweeted.

The Metropolitan Police made 49 arrests for a variety of offences in connection with the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy in London. Earlier, a Wembley spokesperson confirmed a "small group" of ticketless fans breached security and gained access into the stadium before the 8 pm kick-off on Sunday, as per Sky Sports.

In a statement released after the match on Twitter, Metropolitan Police said: "Our policing operation for the #Euro2020 final is drawing to a close. Thank you to the tens of thousands of fans who had good spirits and behaved responsibly. We made 49 arrests during the day for a variety of offences. We will have officers on hand throughout the night."

The Metropolitan Police also confirmed that 19 police officers got injured while confronting the volatile crowd. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also condemned the "appalling" racial abuse of players on social media following the Three Lions' loss. Azzurri defeated England 3-2 on penalties after the normal 90-minute action had finished at 1-1 and even extra time was not able to break the deadlock.

Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka all missed the chance to net goals in the penalty shootouts. The English players were then abused on social media. The British Prime Minister said England players "deserve" to be lauded for their heroics and shouldn't be "racially abused" on social media.

( With inputs from ANI )