Deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House said the force was preparing for “some particularly contentious matches that England will be involved in” during the month-long tournament, which starts tomorrow, Friday.
His remarks came after concerns were raised at City Hall about the 8pm kick-off for the match on Friday, June 18, allowing time for an “all-day drinking session”.
Sir Stephen, a former chief constable of Police Scotland, told a London Assembly meeting today: “We are expecting a large number of fans from Scotland to come down for the England v Scotland match.
“We have publicity in Scotland, and we are working closely with Police Scotland, to try to remind people that if they don’t have tickets then they won’t get in [to Wembley] and they shouldn’t come down to London.
“Inevitably people will attend who don’t have tickets. We have significant extra resources on duty to deal with any disorder that may occur.
“I would urge all fans to behave properly and to control their drinking…. To fans from Scotland, if they don’t have a ticket, they should not come.”
This contradicts a message from Mayor Sadiq Khan last month, who said he would welcome Scots travelling to London as it would help to boost the capital’s covid-hit economy.
Mr Khan urged Scottish fans not to head to Trafalgar Square – which is traditionally invaded by the Tartan Army during clashes with the “Auld enemy” – where the match will be shown live on giant screens in a ticket-only “fan zone” that will be open only to 750 London key workers, due to social distancing.
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Instead he advised ticketless fans to make arrangements to watch the match away from Wembley or Trafalgar Square, either in pubs, hotels or at the homes of London-based friends.
No giant screens will show the match elsewhere, despite the expectation of thousands of Scotland fans heading to London for the first match between the two nations in four years.
A total of 2,600 members of the Tartan Army will be allowed inside Wembley to watch the group game against England, out of a total reduced capacity in the stadium of 25,000.
All fans will have to prove they have been fully vaccinated against covid or have passed a recent test.
Sir Stephen said policing the Euros was likely to be a “difficult situation exacerbated by covid”, complicated by the possible easing of lockdown on June 21, after which more fans will be able to attend games.
