England fans bought more than 5,000 beers as hundreds defied police orders to move on from a Dallas pub ahead of the Three Lions' World Cup opener against Croatia.
Pub Closure and Fan Defiance
Despite the Londoner Pub in Dallas advertising a later closing time, fans were ordered to move on by bar staff and two police officers just before 10 p.m. The pub was eventually cleared, but many remained on the balcony outside the building for another couple of hours.
Officers confirmed the early closure was due to the venue reaching maximum capacity, with only two security guards on duty.
Record Beer Sales
Before closing its doors, the Londoner staff said they managed to sell 2,352 bottles of beer, more than 5,000 beers in total, making more than £30,000 from the evening.
After supporters remained on the pub's balcony, dozens of Dallas Police Department vehicles lined the road outside, and officers stood looking up at the English fans, who chanted loudly. Officers stood on the road for around 20 minutes before all police vehicles moved away to a nearby area and out of sight.
Post-Closure Activities
Supporters then spent around an hour kicking a football up and down the road and the balcony – with the ball occasionally landing on the bonnets of nearby vehicles. A very small group could also be seen dropping plants off the edge of the balcony. At the end of the evening, many England fans stayed to help bar staff clean up the mess created during the course of the evening.
Fan Gathering and Organizer Comments
The event started with supporters creating a sea of St George's flags, turning out in fancy dress and singing popular chants as they braved the hot Dallas sunshine.
Organiser John Gallivan, 39, from Bristol, told the Press Association the scale of Texas had made it far harder for fans to find each other than at previous tournaments in Europe. He said: "America's massive, it's so big, so vast. When we go to Europe, it's really easy – you know where you're going to be. You don't have to ask, you don't have to look, you just know where we're going to be. In America, that's impossible – so the whole idea of today was to just find somewhere, get them to put a deal on the beer and then advertise it."
There was no police presence earlier at the event as supporters wearing England-themed costumes and draped in St George's flags filled the pub throughout the evening, with chants of "It's Coming Home" and "Don't take me home" breaking out as more fans arrived.
Bristol Rovers fan Mr Gallivan said the event had grown far beyond his expectations after sharing it on social media. "We've been here since 4 p.m. and it's been grand. I feel sorry for the bar staff," he said. Mr Gallivan said many regular England supporters had been unable to make the trip because of the cost of attending the tournament.
He said: "I think the way Fifa have managed it, it's been disgraceful. We've been dealt a bad hand. We could have brought so many more out here, but sadly they've been outpriced. People that I spent time with in Albania and Latvia and had a really good night with, who go home and away, they've been priced out of it and that's not right. They shouldn't have been."
Thomas Tuchel's team kick off their campaign at the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium against Croatia this evening with the hopes of a nation resting on their shoulders.
