UEFA threaten to expel England and Russia after violent clashes leave one fan critical
The European football body opened disciplinary proceedings against the Russian Football Union after scenes of violence marred their 1-1 draw with England in Marseille. Uefa handed down charges for alleged crowd disturbances, racist behaviour, and the setting off of fireworks by Russia fans during the game at the Stade Velodrome.
It also said it would take steps to strengthen security at match venues after the embarrassing scenes at Olympique Marseille’s ground. The disorder at the 67,000-capacity venue came after a third day of violent clashes between rival fans and locals on the streets of Marseille left one England fan critically ill in hospital.
French police said 35 people had been injured, with eight arrested.
A Uefa spokesman said: “Uefa expresses its utter disgust for the violent clashes that occurred in the city centre of Marseille, and its serious concern for the incidents at the end of the match inside Stade Velodrome.
“This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable and has no place in football.
“Uefa acknowledges that there were segregation issues at Stade Velodrome and will implement corrective measures to strengthen the deployment of security personnel at stadiums, in close collaboration with local authorities.”
World football body Fifa said it was “wholly unacceptable to see such shameful scenes around football matches perpetrated by a minority of idiotic troublemakers, who have nothing to do with football and its true fans”.
England fans were seen fleeing the stands shortly after the final whistle was blown as balaclava-clad thugs punched through a line of stewards before attacking bystanders.
England have avoided any charges and Uefa confirmed before kick-off that incidents outside the Stade Velodrome perimeter fell outside its remit. The incident raised serious questions about French security at a time when the country is on high alert after November’s terrorist attacks on Paris.
England fan Sam Blackwell was at the Stade Velodrome on Saturday night and told the BBC security had been “very poor”, with stewards left to cope on their own for five to 10 minutes before help arrived.
He said: “Even before we got in the stadium we were surprised how slack the searches were going into the ground, because they were almost non-existent. It was just a quick pat down and then they let you through.
“If they were doing them properly how would the Russian fans have got the fireworks and the flares in?”
The scenes from Marseille were described by the British FA as “terrible” as it called on local authorities to deal with perpetrators swiftly.
There were also reports of attacks on Northern Ireland fans by local “ultras” in Nice, ahead of the side’s game against Poland.
