UEFA asked an investigator on Tuesday to study violence by England fans at the European Championship final including at least hundreds who got into Wembley Stadium without tickets. The English Football Association was separately charged with multiple offences by fans before and during their team's loss to Italy in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

The charges relate to booing Italy's national anthem, a fan who stopped play by running on the pitch, throwing objects, and lighting fireworks.

While those offences typically result in fines, more serious punishment such as full or partial stadium closures can follow the kind of violence seen on Sunday. Fans without tickets broke through security barriers and turnstiles to get in to see England's first major tournament final in 55 years.

The official attendance was around 67,000 of the stadium's 90,000 capacity, with many seats intended to be left empty to distance fans during the Covid-19 pandemic. UEFA gave no timetable for the disciplinary cases.

The FA was fined 30,000 euros (USD 35,000) for fan incidents after the team's semifinal at Wembley last week, including booing Denmark's anthem.

What exactly happened

On Sunday, queues formed outside pubs before opening time at noon as people sought a big screen and company for the evening match. Some started the party too soon, and a minority caused drunken mayhem. Hours before the game, fans packed pubs, clubs and outdoor fan zones in towns and cities across England. Central London's Leicester Square became a sea of discarded food wrappers, plastic bags and beer bottles as hundreds of fans sang and partied; some threw bottles and set off flares.

Thousands of fans without tickets descended on Wembley Stadium, some scrambling up trees and traffic lights to fly the England flag. There were chaotic scenes as security staff and police scuffled with hundreds who tried to storm barriers and enter the stadium. Wembley officials initially insisted no one without tickets had got inside, but London's Metropolitan Police said a small number of ticketless fans had entered the 90,000-seat stadium.

Bottles were thrown as fans left Wembley after the game, and police in riot gear stood by. Some fans in London's Trafalgar Square lashed out after the defeat by kicking fences, smashing bottles, overturning garbage bins and fighting with one another.

The Metropolitan Police said 45 people had been arrested across London throughout the day. The force also said it was investigating offensive and racist" messages on social media directed at some players. Marcus Rashford and Buyako Saka were both subjected to racist abuse after missing penalties.

England's Football Association condemned the abuse and called for the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.