Russians punished for violence

Russia will spend the next three-and-a-half years playing under the threat of a six-point deduction for their 2016 European Championship qualify campaign after UEFA last night got tough over the behaviour of their fans.

The Russian Football Union were also fined €120,000 for the “improper conduct” of their supporters during their opening Euro 2012 Group A match against Czech Republic last Friday.

UEFA said it had “decided to impose a deduction of six points on the Football Union of Russia (RFS) in the qualifying round of the next UEFA European Football Championship. This decision is suspended for a probationary period running from now until the end of the play-offs of the next UEFA European Football Championship (UEFA Euro 2016).