A man has been charged over an alleged tailgating offence at Sunday's Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium
Isaac Seelochan Senior Sports Journalist
22:16, 22 Mar 2026Updated 22:35, 22 Mar 2026
A general view of Wembley Stadium
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Man City beat Arsenal 2-0 in Sunday's Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium (Image: Kieran McManus/Shutterstock)
A man has become the first person to be charged with tailgating at a football match after allegedly entering Sunday's Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium without a ticket. Tailgating became a criminal offence ahead of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City, which Pep Guardiola's side won 2-0.
The offence, which is when fans get through stadium turnstiles by walking closely behind ticket holders, could see those convicted face a football banning order of up to five years as well as a fine of up to £1,000. It comes after thousands of ticketless fans stormed Wembley before the 2020 European Championship final between England and Italy.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that Benjamin Bailey, 27, of Oldham, Manchester, was arrested at Sunday afternoon's final and charged hours later at 7.45pm in connection with alleged tailgating. He will appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court on May 1.
The Carabao Cup trophy
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Sunday's Carabao Cup final saw Man City claim the season's first piece of silverware (Image: Eddie Keogh, Getty Images)
Two other men were arrested on suspicion of the same offence at Wembley and remain in police custody.
Chief Inspector Pete Dearden, from the Met's public order unit and match commander at Wembley, has explained the work his team have been doing at the stadium.
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He said: "So much strategic planning goes into these operations.
"We expect high standards and every officer delivered that today.
"Huge changes have been implemented since last year, and we will now use the success of the policing operation today as a blueprint throughout the busy summer at Wembley so fans can safely enjoy upcoming fixtures."
Police say there was a 78 per cent reduction in offences at this year's final.
A total of 20 arrests were made on Sunday compared to 91 arrests at the same fixture last year, the Met added.
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The arrests this year included seven for affray, one for assault of an emergency service worker, and one for racially aggravated assault.
Elsewhere, a man was also arrested on suspicion of tailgating on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the north London team faced Nottingham Forest, police said.
He had been bailed pending further investigation.