Governing body Uefa on Sunday warned it would not hesitate to throw England and Russian Federation out of the competition following the violent clashes between fans that marred the teams’ 1-1 draw in Marseille on Saturday.
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Five England fans appeared in court in Frances yesterday in connection with the weekend violence including one from Birmingham.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, has launched disciplinary proceedings against Russia’s football authorities after their supporters stormed England fans in the Marseille stadium following the final whistle.
They were the first Brits to be dealt with in the courts after the port city descended into violence after England’s first round Euro ’16 clash against Russian Federation.
Mr Lebedev said the violence was “not the fans’ fault”.
He said officials had been unable to stop the Russian thugs as they had arrived in the city by train.
Seven people were injured there including one man who suffered a serious head injury, police said.
Before being dealt with, Booth told Marseille court today: “I would like to say sorry to the police and to the people and city of Marseille”.
He said the stewarding in the stadium was “unacceptable” as supporters were able to get in with fireworks and flares, and there was “insufficient segregation” between England and Russian fans. The Porstmouth fan’s injuries aren’t said to be life-threatening but they will be life-changing, though the extent of the damage that has been caused can not be confirmed until he is taken out of an induced coma.
In a statement, it said these could include “the potential disqualification of their respective teams” from the tournament in France.
Rather than the indiscriminate use of tear gas and water cannons seen in Marseille, Miles wants to see targeted action by the French police for the remainder of the tournament.
Today Hodgson and Rooney took the step of directly appealing to supporters not to travel without a ticket and to behave themselves ahead of Thursday’s match against Wales.
Home Secretary Theresa May said England fans involved in the “indefensible” violence in Marseilles have let their country down. And for fans with tickets: “be safe, be sensible and continue with your great support for the players”.
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The comments painted a worrying picture of well-organized, violent Russian hooligans roaming the streets and deliberately attacking England fans as riot police were nearly powerless to stop them.
