The Football Association has appealed to England supporters to be “responsible and respectful” after being warned by Uefa that England risk being kicked out of the tournament along with Russia if there is any repeat of the violence that marred the buildup to their opening match in Marseille.
The French government has warned that the time and effort spent dealing with unruly fans was distracting police from the fight against terrorism.
“Their actions distract the police from their primary mission, which is to protect our country from the terrorist threat,” said French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, on Sunday.
England fans were involved in fights with Russian supporters in the city before the Group B match, while after the game Russia fans attacked the English in the ground for which they have been separately charged by Uefa. Martin Glenn, the FA’s chief executive, last night asked the English supporters to be on their best behaviour. “Violent scenes like those witnessed over the weekend in Marseille have no place in football, nor society as a whole,” said Glenn.
“We want people – fans and locals – to feel safe and enjoy a festival atmosphere at the Euros and we will continue to work closely with all the relevant authorities to achieve that.”
Asked if criticism levelled at England fans in general had been fair, Glenn added: “I think it is clear there has been a problem. There is antisocial behaviour, where fans are going out there to soak up the atmosphere. They are not going to the ground. It is causing trouble for a stretched French police that have got other things to worry about, so I think that’s bad. Unfortunately, what we seem to have seen on top of that, particularly yesterday, is probably a level of criminality from others including organised Russian gangs and locals, changing the scene totally.
“What the FA would say to England fans is: ‘Look, support your team, respect the locals where you are staying, but the best way to support the England team is to have a drink, sing a song, but be respectful.’ Otherwise it is a problem.”
Glenn was speaking after Uefa issued a strongly worded statement condemning the violent scenes in Marseille and warning England and Russia that they faced expulsion from the tournament. “The Uefa executive committee would like to express its disgust for the violent clashes which occurred in the city of Marseille,” it said. “Such unacceptable behaviour by so-called supporters of the national teams of England and Russia has no place in football, a sport we must protect and defend.”
Uefa normally argues that it can police behaviour by supporters only inside stadiums, and to that end has launched disciplinary proceedings against Russia over the scenes at the end of the match. It also acknowledged “segregation issues” inside the Stade Vélodrome, where Russians charged at terrified England fans at the final whistle, and promised to work with tournament organisers to improve matters.
But in an unusual move, Uefa’s board said it would not hesitate to take additional sanctions, up to and including disqualification, against both teams if their fans were involved in violence again during the course of the tournament.
“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 on the Football Association and the Russian Football Union, including the potential disqualification of their respective teams from the tournament, should such violence occur again.”
The tactics of the police in Marseille came under heavy criticism from England supporters groups, which argued that by dispersing crowds with tear gas rather than arresting heavily organised Russian perpetrators they had left the worst aggressors free to strike again.
Russian fans broke through lax security inside the stadium at the end of the match to attack England supporters, including families, who were fleeing for the exit. The English FA has not been charged over the behaviour of its fans inside the stadium.
Earlier in the day, around 200 Russians had attacked England supporters in the old port area of the city, causing serious injuries. Before that there had been three days of skirmishes between England fans, the police and locals.
Concern will now turn to the northern city of Lille, where Russia will play Slovakia on Wednesday before England face Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday. England fans have been officially advised by the authorities to stay away from Lens if they don’t have a ticket and to head for Lille instead, leading to fears they will again clash with Russia fans. England striker Wayne Rooney is to make a statement on Monday urging fans to be on their best behaviour for the game, with manager Roy Hodgson likely to issue a similar warning on Tuesday.
Cazeneuve announced on Sunday that there is to be a ban on alcohol sales and consumption in certain high-risk areas, following the disruption in Marseille. The alcohol ban will be enforced the day before and the day of matches.
Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters Federation, said he was against throwing either England or Russia out of the competition, arguing such a move would punish the majority for the ills of a minority. But he said that when England had been threatened with expulsion from the 2000 European Championship in the Netherlands and Belgium, after incidents in Charleroi, the government introduced banning orders and the FA brought in its membership scheme. He said Russian authorities needed to prove they were serious about taking action to combat hooliganism.
There were eyewitness reports of some of the Russians who were involved in disorder wearing official accreditation and handing out tickets before the match. Others pointed to footage that appeared to show the Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, who downplayed the seriousness of the clashes, waving to crowds shortly after the surge towards the English fans began.
The British government has offered to assist the French following the violence, scenes of which dominated the front pages of the French newspapers. Downing Street said the home secretary, Theresa May, had spoken to her counterpart in Paris, Cazeneuve, and offered to send more police “to support the security operation around the match in Lens”.
As has been the case at every major tournament for the past two decades, UK police have travelled to France to liaise with local security forces and try to quell the potential for trouble. But it is believed that the French police ignored advice on how to contain the unruly English fans who had gathered in the old port area and instead opted to disperse them with teargas instead.
Around 90,000 police and security personnel are on duty across France, amid heightened tension in the wake of the Paris terror attacks seven months ago that killed 130 people.
“UK police will be assisting the French with their post-incident investigations and supporting them to gather evidence, including evidence against any England fans involved in the disorder,” said the Downing Street spokeswoman.
Six British nationals remained in hospital following the violence in Marseille, she added.
Russia was also charged by Uefa over fireworks being let off inside the stadium and racist behaviour, thought to relate to a banner showing the Celtic Cross. It is understood that other Russian far-right flags were also spotted in the stadium and will be included in the disciplinary report.
Piara Powar, the executive director of anti-racism group Fare, which has an official monitoring role for Uefa, said: “We have already identified the fact there is a rump of far-right Russian fans who are setting the tone for a lot of other Russian fans.”
Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary body will meet on Tuesday to decide on sanctions against Russia before their game against Slovakia in Lille the following day. But Uefa and Euro 2016 organisers will also face tough questions over the policing and security arrangements, amid increasingly loud demands to know why the match was played in Marseille in the first place.
There is understood to be belated acknowledgment at senior levels within Uefa that sticking slavishly to the idea of slotting matches randomly into preselected venues is flawed. That system led not only to England facing Russia on a Saturday evening in the same city where there was large-scale disorder at the 1998 World Cup, but Roy Hodgson’s side then facing Wales in Lens, the smallest city in the competition.
Previous incidents of disorder involving the next World Cup hosts are likely to count against Russia, with Saturday’s game their first to be organised by Uefa since the lifting of probationary sanctions that were threatened after violent disorder by its fans in Poland four years ago.
Then, Uefa deferred a sanction of ordering Russia to play three home Euro 2016 qualifying games in empty stadiums. The stadium ban would have been activated if fan violence during qualifying matches was repeated. Uefa had initially threatened Russia with a six-point deduction in Euro 2016 qualifying but that was removed on appeal.
Mutko, the Russian sports minister who led its successful bid to host the 2018 World Cup and sits on Fifa’s executive committee, insisted in the wake of the trouble that it 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.”
