Sunday 05 / May / 2024
Paris/Nice: Russia will be thrown out of the Euro 2016 Soccer tournament if there is any repeat of the violence by Russian fans which marred the end of the match against England, UEFA said on Tuesday.
UEFA imposed a suspended disqualification on the Russian Football Union (RFU) in response to the attacks by masked Russian supporters on England fans at the end of the 1-1 Group B draw at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday.
The governing body said the disqualification would take effect if the fans caused more trouble inside a stadium at any of Russia's remaining matches.
"Charges relating to crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour had been brought against the RFU (Russian Football Union)," UEFA said in a statement announcing the suspended disqualification.
It also fined the RFU 150,000 euro ($168,300).
The ruling only applied to violence inside a stadium, although Russian fans were also involved in violent clashes with England supporters in the port city before and after the match.
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Russia, which will host the 2018 World Cup, would not appeal against the sanction.
"The punishment is excessive, but we cannot influence it. The fine is enormous as the Russian Football Union is a non-commercial organisation. There is no sense to appeal. But what (has) the team has to do with that? It is not guilty," he said.
Strong response
The violence in the stadium followed three days of clashes between English, Russian and French fans in the Mediterranean port city that drew a strong response from riot police, including volleys of tear gas and baton charges.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Tuesday that police had detained a group of Russia fans near Cannes on the French Riviera.
They were heading towards the northern city of Lille and were suspected of being involved in the Marseille violence. Riot police surrounded the bus as it left Cannes for the north.
A police source said 43 were in custody.
"There are clear signs that some of them took part in unacceptable violence in Marseille," local police chief Adolphe Colrat said.
Russia face Slovakia in Lille, while England take on Wales in neighbouring Lens on Thursday. Security has been beefed up for the two games, UEFA said.
"We will implement additional corrective measures for the games coming up in Lens and Lille and we hope that those measures will be sufficient to avoid any other crowd trouble during the matches," a spokesman said.
While the sanctions announced on Tuesday relate to incidents inside stadiums, UEFA said on Sunday it could throw England or Russia out of the tournament if violence continued outside.
The scenes of rival fans wielding metal bars and hurling beer bottles in the street clashes in Marseille, as well as incidents in Nice, Lille and Paris, have turned attention away from events on the pitch.
There are fears the violence could spread at a time when French security forces are stretched to guard against any militant attacks in the wake of the shooting rampage in Paris in November which killed 130 people.
On Monday, a suspected Islamist militant stabbed and killed a French police commander and his partner at their home.
Deportations
Several hundred English, Russian and French fans squared off for three days over the weekend in Marseille in skirmishes in the city's narrow central streets.
In those clashes, 15 fans were arrested. Five England fans have so far been sentenced to jail terms of between one and three months and a Frenchman received a two-year term.
No Russians were arrested, although Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said about 150 Russians were well-organised hooligans.
In the bus incident near Cannes, eight people, including two claiming to be from the Russian sports ministry, got off the bus but the other 35 initially refused to until the Russian consul for Marseille came to explain the procedure.
Alexander Shprygin, the head of a Russian supporters group, told Reuters that French authorities had drawn up 29 deportation orders. He denied that any of the fans in the bus had taken part in the violence in Marseille.
Anti-racism groups have accused Shprygin, a self-described nationalist who was photographed as a young man making what looked like a Nazi salute, of having links to Russia's shadowy far-right movement. He has shrugged off the allegations.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls said people who had been sentenced would be deported.
"They are not wanted on our national territory due to their behaviour," Valls said.
