UEFA has warned England and Russia their teams could be disqualified from Euro 2016 if there is further fan violence.
Fan clashes between Russian fans, England fans, and French locals in Marseille has marred the tournament to date and UEFA has promised swift action will be taken if the violence continues.
In shocking scenes, Russian fans broke through to a segregated area to charge at England supporters in the Stade Velodrome following the two team’s 1-1 draw on Saturday evening.
England fans (and many French people too) climbing fences to avoid Russian supporters pic.twitter.com/ryE9JXSwwP
— Nick Eardley (@nickeardleybbc) June 11, 2016
At the time of writing, UEFA have opened disciplinary hearings against Russia following the stadium violence, but they are not believed to be pressing charges against the English FA.
The UEFA charge sheet against the Russian Football Union over Marseille. No charges for English FA pic.twitter.com/S3kWUsBLvD
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) June 12, 2016
“The UEFA Executive Committee has warned both football associations that – irrespective of any decisions taken by the independent disciplinary bodies relating to incidents inside the stadium – it will not hesitate to impose additional sanctions …including the potential disqualification of their respective teams from the tournament, should such violence occur again,” UEFA said in a statement.
“We urge both the Football Association and the Russian Football Union to appeal to their supporters to behave in a responsible and respectful manner,” UEFA said.
New UEFA statement: English & Russian FA's warned they could be disqualified from #Euro2016 if further trouble pic.twitter.com/phokTv23JW
— Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) June 12, 2016
In the wake of fan violence, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said he was expecting Uefa to fine the Russian FA following incidents in Marseille, but insisted the troubles in Marseille had been exaggerated.
“There was no clash … That’s being exaggerated, in fact everything is fine here,” Mutko told R-Sport. “When the match ended, there was no barrier between the fans. The British were upset, of course, but it all quickly dissolved. Such matches should be organised properly. It is necessary to separate the fans [at the stadium].”
As reported in The Guardian, Uefa have now promised to increase security in segregated areas between fans inside stadiums but questions remain over how Russian fans so easily jumped over tarpaulin to overwhelm England fans over the weekend, including women and children.
That flare guns continue to be brought into stadiums and fired in both England vs Russia and in Croatia vs. Turkey, much work is to be done by security to ensure fan safety.
