{{Short description|1996 football riots in London}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom sidebar}} The '''1996 Trafalgar Square riots''' in [[London]] occurred on 26 June 1996. After the [[England national football team]] was defeated by [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in the [[UEFA Euro 1996 knockout stage#Germany vs England|knockout stage]] of [[UEFA Euro 1996]] at [[Old Wembley|Wembley Stadium]], [[football hooliganism|hooligans]] took over [[Trafalgar Square]] in the [[West End of London]]. Up to 2,000 hooligans, many drunk, pelted police and civilians with bottles, smashed windows and shops and overturned cars.
The [[Metropolitan Police]] deployed its public order unit in riot gear, and they were confronted by the hooligans. Sixty-six people were injured and over 200 arrests were made.<ref>{{cite web|last=Boggan|first=Steve|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/rioting-is-blamed-on-media-jingoism-1339100.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/rioting-is-blamed-on-media-jingoism-1339100.html|archive-date=1 May 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Rioting is blamed on media jingoism|date=28 June 1996|accessdate=1 May 2022|publisher=independent.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Amongst the hooligan firms held responsible for the Trafalgar Square riot were [[Chelsea Headhunters]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hopkins |first=Nick |date=10 November 1999 |title=Thugs target big Scotland v England game, police say |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/1999/nov/10/newsstory.sport6 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=5 January 2026}}</ref>
The events were a familiar flashback to the large-scale [[Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom|football violence in the country]] during the 1980s. However, the rioting was the only notable incident that happened during the Euro 1996 championship, which was otherwise peaceful and orderly.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/hooligans/60451.stm|title=Euro 96 – the model football tournament|website=BBC News|date=26 February 1998|accessdate=28 May 2018}}</ref>
As well as the rioting in London, violence also occurred that day in several other places in the country, including [[Swindon]] and [[Bedford]], where [[looting]] occurred. In [[Shirley, West Midlands]], hooligans threw bricks at an [[Aldi]] (German) supermarket. In [[Brighton]], a Russian student was stabbed five times by a hooligan who thought he was German.<ref>{{cite web|last=Devi|first=Sharmila|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/06/27/UK-soccer-fans-riot-after-Euro-96-loss/2543835848000/|title=UK soccer fans riot after Euro '96 loss|publisher=www.upi.com|date=27 June 1996|accessdate=28 May 2018}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Poll Tax riots]] *[[2009 Upton Park riot]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Riots in England}}
[[Category:Association football riots]] [[Category:1996 riots]] [[Category:1996 in London|Trafalgar Square riots]] [[Category:1990s crimes in London|Trafalgar Square riots]] [[Category:June 1996 in the United Kingdom|Trafalgar Square riots]] [[Category:20th-century riots in London]] [[Category:Trafalgar Square]]
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