FA release statement warning England fans NOT to travel to the airport as Lioness heroes fly home after Euro 2025 glory
Sarina Wiegman's side won back-to-back Euros titles after defeating Spain 3-1 on penalties in Switzerland.
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But the FA have released a statement begging jubilant England fans to stay away from their landing airport.
The move is to ensure the players' smooth and safe arrival, preventing potential overcrowding and logistical nightmares at what will be extremely busy airports.
Instead, supporters are being encouraged to join in the official homecoming celebrations planned for central London on Tuesday.
The team bus will parade down The Mall, culminating in a staged ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial, hosted by former England star Alex Scott.
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The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
Airports in chaos after air traffic control outage grounds flights across UK
An air traffic control fault left tens of thousands of summer holidaymakers facing the chaos of grounded planes and suspended take-offs on Wednesday. Passengers across Europe were stranded during the peak holiday season when planes were diverted, some turning around mid-air to return to their departure cities because of a 20-minute glitch. Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester Airports were all among the airports hit by the outage that left many aircraft and flight crew out of position. Take-offs for thousands of passengers were cancelled because inbound flights had turned back. In some cases, travellers were held on planes on the tarmac with no news of when their flight might take off, or even after landing. Flights to destinations including Marseille, Lyon, Brussels, Glasgow, Newcastle, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin, Frankfurt and Basel were cancelled. Some planes scheduled to arrive at UK airports were forced to conduct holding patterns or divert elsewhere. The disruption, which began just after 4pm on Wednesday, was down to a 'technical issue' at the control centre of ATC provider Nats in Swanwick, Hampshire, the company said. Flight analytics experts Cirium said that by 5.30pm, 80 flights to and from the UK had been cancelled. British Airways, which was the airline hardest hit, restricted Heathrow inbound and outbound flights to 32 an hour until 7.15pm before volumes returned to their usual 45 an hour, creating a backlog. Almost all BA flights on Wednesday evening were delayed, with at least a dozen encountering delays of two hours or more: to places including Chicago, New York JFK, Pittsburgh, Valencia, Prague, Nice, Edinburgh and Belfast City. Heathrow's night curfew was expected to be lifted to allow airlines to get their schedules back to normal. But the disruption left passengers upset. John Carr, from Stourbridge, was worried his flight cancellation would force him to miss his brother's wedding in Norway, for which he was best man. Mr Carr, 35, said: 'I'm pretty gutted. We've got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we're obviously flying to Norway. We've got the wedding rehearsal to do. It's quite stressful.' Other passengers complained they were left confused because of 'terrible communication' from airports and airlines. Even passengers on later flights on Wednesday faced disruption. At Southend, an incoming plane from Gran Canaria ended up on Jersey, and a round-trip to Amsterdam was cancelled. London City airport was also badly hit, with one BA flight from Glasgow returning to its starting place, and links to Rotterdam, Palma and Amsterdam cancelled. Britain's biggest budget airline, easyJet, attacked Nats for 'once again causing disruption' after a system outage in August 2023 that caused chaos for at least 700,000 passengers. David Morgan, easyJet's chief operating officer, said: 'While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from Nats what steps they are taking to ensure issues don't continue.' The airline cancelled at least 16 flights to and from its main base, Gatwick Airport. Passengers were told: 'We are advising customers travelling this evening to check our Flight Tracker for the most up-to-date information on their flight and are contacting all impacted customers directly. While this is outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by the ATC failure.' Ryanair went further, calling for Nats' chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, claiming no lessons had been learnt in two years. Nats was contacted for comment. The company said: 'We are working with affected airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely. We apologise to everyone affected by this issue.' One expert said it was understood the software prioritised safety over keeping airspace open. Junade Ali, a fellow at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said: 'Nats has previously thoroughly investigated such incidents and implemented suitable measures. 'From prior incident reports, the software is understood to not compromise safety at the expense of keeping airspace open. "This is the right approach as, whilst keeping airspace open is important, the public risk appetite demands a high standard of safety when it comes to air travel.' A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'We are working closely with Nats to understand the cause of the technical issue and the implications for the resilience systems in place.' The Liberal Democrats called for an investigation into the glitch. Party leader Sir Ed Davey said: "With thousands of families preparing to go on a well-earned break, this just isn't good enough. 'The government should launch an urgent investigation to ensure the system is fit for purpose, including ruling out hostile action as a cause.'
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Panathinaikos 1 Rangers 1 (Rangers win 3-1 on aggregate): New boss Martin survives baptism of fire
As the clock confirmed the 90 minutes had come and gone and darkness closed in, a hush finally descended on Panathinaikos' exuberant supporters. Russell Martin took one last look at his watch, exhaled deeply and drank in the moment. It had been far from pretty, but the fact his side did just enough in the heat of Athens will be remembered long after the minor details of this affair are long forgotten. Handed the most arduous opening assignment as manager of the Ibrox club, he's entitled to take no little satisfaction from this triumph. While he was correct to point out that its outcome would not define his side's season, it was always going to set the tone. Amid a summer of substantial change on and off the park, a two-legged victory against a seasoned European side will further engender an air of positivity around the club. It feels like a steady first step on a journey. Martin and his players may still have to clear two further hurdles to make it to the Champions League proper, but they now have the comfort of knowing they have secured group stage football of some description. The manager will need no one to tell him how differently all of this might have played out, however. With his side struggling for composure throughout the match, Panathinaikos — again — fashioned enough chances to get the job done. While Jack Butland again earned his corn, the fact is that the Greeks were toothless in the final third. A better side would have turned a hatful of chances into more goals and prevailed. There is still much work for Martin and his players to do. That, though, is for another day. For now, all that truly counts is that a work in progress has cleared an awkward first hurdle. Djeidi Gassama is emerging as quite the summer signing. A £2.2million capture from Sheffield Wednesday, the Frenchman made an immediate impact with the second goal in the first leg and made another telling contribution here. Deservedly behind on the night through Filip Djuricic's header early in the second half, Gassama soon quietened the home supporters with a superb flashing strike, his first touch of the night after coming off the bench. From that point on, Rangers looked good to get the result they came for. For all the supporters of Panathinaikos descended on the Olympic Stadium in their numbers, there was never any possibility of its 75,000 capacity being troubled. A temporary home for European matches, this stadium still echoed to the noise of their chants. But the running track around the perimeter of the pitch meant it lacked the hostility and intensity of their more compact home, the Apostolos Nikolaidis. Despite confirming that Gassama was ready to start, Martin kept the Frenchman in reserve, keeping faith the same XI who'd started the first leg. As predicted, Rui Vitoria's side came out swinging, forcing four corners inside the first 10 minutes. With the visitors struggling to get up to the pace of the game, Nico Raskin's clearing header only made it as far as Tasos Bakasetas. Butland was relieved to see the midfielder's strike from 18 yards creep a foot wide of the target. Rangers were certainly looking to get up the park, as Martin had directed them too. In the early exchanges, that proved to be wishful thinking. Fotis Ioannidis worked a one-two with Djuricic. Butland had to be smartly off his line to shut down the angle and make a telling block. Indecision by John Souttar then put Max Aarons in trouble. With the full-back beaten to the ball by Facundo Pellistri, Butland again advanced to save the day. Rangers were already riding their luck. Another green surge up the park brought a further moment of alarm for the visiting bench. Pellistri strode away from the struggling Aarons down the right and dragged Nasser Djiga out of position. His cross was met flush by the head of the flying Ioannidis. Butland didn't know much about it but was again in the right place at the right time. With his side detailed to build from the back, Djiga undercooked a pass to James Tavernier. Duricic pounced and squared the ball to Pellistri. The Uruguayan's failure to hit the target from 15 yards left his manager flapping his arms and looking up to the heavens. With men in white jerseys taking it in turns to give the ball away, there was little respite from the pressure. The half-time whistle was nigh by the time the visitors held the ball for more than a minute. While Raskin headed Joe Rothwell's corner just over the top, Martin's side didn't create a single chance of note from open play in the first period. The manager raced back up the tunnel the instant the half-time whistle sounded, doubtless with some choice words to impart. They didn't have the desired effect. Within nine minutes of the restart, Panathinaikos had the goal they richly deserved. Bakasetas's in-swinging cross from the right caught those in front of Butland on their heels. Djuricic's header back across goal was well-placed. Butland scrambled but could not prevent it from sneaking in. A raised offside flag offered Rangers false hope. As VAR eventually identified, Aarons had played Duricic onside. With Rangers rattled, Ioannidis was a hair's breadth from connecting with Djuricic's cross and squaring the tie. The introduction of Gassama arrived when his side most needed him. Starved of service to that point, Danilo had a pair of strikes repelled by a defender then the keeper. The ball sat up perfectly for the winger. His right-foot strike caught the inside of the far post and went in. 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Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Geri Horner celebrates with the Lionesses at Oasis' Wembley concert after the team won the women's Euros final
Geri Horner celebrated with the Lionesses as they attended Oasis' concert at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday after the team won the women's Euros final. The former Spice Girl, 52, joined Alex Greenwood, Hannah Hampton and Alessia Russo in the crowd the band's hotly-anticipated reunion. The team roared to victory in Sunday's match following a nail-biting game, which finished with an incredible 3-1 penalty shoot out win. Congratulating them on their win, Geri joined the girls for a photo before they took their seats for the gig. She captioned her Instagram post: 'They're home!' After a run of homecoming gigs in Manchester's Heaton Park, Oasis returned to London last week, where they will play five shows. Elsewhere, Geri has faced yet another blow when it was revealed her book company has racked up a huge £1million debt. It comes following the news her husband Christian was released from his operational duties as the boss of Red Bull one year after the scandal that engulfed him over texts he apparently sent to a female employee. According to a new publication Geri could now be facing her own troubles as her company Falcon Queen Productions has sunk further into the red. The Mirror reports, Geri had a deficit of £750,000 in the year ending August 2024, compared to a £276,000 the previous year. The singer released her children's books, Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen and Rose Frost: Ice On Fire via the firm. However, her 'main company, Wonderful Productions, earned £2.16m in the 12 months to August last year.' Wonderful Productions was set up by Geri in 1997 at the height of the Spice Girls' fame and channels earnings from her career in music and other commercial deals. MailOnline has contacted Geri's representative for comment. Christian was released from his operational duties as the boss of Red Bull earlier this month. It ends the longest reign of Formula One team principals in the sport and comes a year after the scandal that engulfed him over texts he apparently sent to a female employee. Red Bull issued a statement confirming the news, reading: 'Red Bull has released Christian Horner from his operational duties with effect from today, Wednesday 9 July 2025, and has appointed Laurent Mekies as CEO of Red Bull Racing.' Horner's former Spice Girl wife Geri stood by her husband after the explosive accusations rocked the Formula One paddock last year. Horner has vehemently denied the claims. Screenshots of alleged WhatsApp messages between Horner and a Red Bull employee were leaked anonymously the day after a three-week investigation, carried out externally, cleared the 51-year-old of all allegations. Horner survived accusations of coercive behaviour towards his colleague – and was twice cleared in internal investigations of wrongdoing.
