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'Blood all over' - Mike Tindall steps in during bloody Wembley punch-up
By Ian Cameron
Former England centre Mike Tindall has given his account of how he was forced to step in to break up a bloody brawl during the Euro 2020 Finals in Wembley on Sunday.
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England were beaten on penalties by Italy, but the game also made headlines for the ugly and violent scenes witnessed off the field, both inside the stadium and outside on the streets of London.
Tindall, who was attending the event with wife Zara, initially watched on as a brawl unfolded in front of him between two drunk England fans.
Accounts appeared online earlier this week of how Tindall then bravely stepped up. Wales Online reported earlier that: “Tensions had got a bit heated near to where Zara and Mike were sitting because it had got quite crowded. Two fans ended up in a punch-up and Mike had to step into save the day. He stood between them and pulled them apart before stewards could get them under control.”
Tindall, who won a World Cup with England in 2003, has now recounted what happened at the stadium in his own words on The Good, The Bad and the Rugby podcast.
“A guy was there the whole time, smashed out of his face, literally didn’t watch any of the game anyway, he was just too busy shouting at supporters that they should be standing on their feet, ends up getting into a fight with another one that’s straight behind my seat.”
The brawl became so extreme that Tindall felt he had to step in the break-up the blood-soaked pair.
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“It got to a stage where this guy literally was trying to pile this guy in the face, there was a kid next to us, there was a kid on the other side crying because he couldn’t see the game because of all the guys stood in the galley way and I just pulled these guys apart, said to one of them ‘What are you doing? Just what are you doing?’ And you know, he wandered off, blood all over him. The guy on the floor had blood all over him.”
