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2 detained, 4 police injured in Marseille

A police official said that two British fans were injured and four police officers slightly hurt in a string of incidents in the southern French city, one of several locations that will be hosting the month-long tournament.

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One England supporter reportedly suffered a head injury after being hit across the face with a wooden chair.

Eyewitnesses said the fight, outside an Irish pub in the Mediterranean city’s Old Port district, was quickly dealt with by police, who used tear gas to restore calm.

England face Russian Federation in their opening Group B clash at Stade Velodrome on Saturday.

This morning the only evidence of the incident was a few tear gas canisters lying on the floor alongside dozens of plastic cups.

A small group of England supporters were at the centre of trouble in Marseille on Thursday night as they were involved in a brawl with locals.

An estimated 200 England fans were involved in the trouble in Marseille on Thursday. Some England fans were heard chanting: “Isis, where are you?”, according to some reports.

Peter McKinley-Smith, a 52-year-old England supporter from Chesterfield, said Friday that it was only a tiny minority of hooligans among the thousands of true fans.

“It was all fine until, our understanding is, a group of around 30 to 40 locals turned up, I think with the intention of provoking the England fans to see if they could get a rise out of them”.

They were baiting us, and then attacked.

He added: “The police have confirmed that version of events”.

Police first responded to the violence at around 11.45pm, and by midnight ambulances were arriving.

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Thousands of England fans have travelled to Marseille ahead of England’s opening Euro 2016 match against Russian Federation in the city’s Stade Velodrome stadium on Saturday.

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