Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told parliament on Wednesday it was impossible to ignore what he said were outrageous provocations by English football fans at the Euro 2016 in France.
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But unlike the previous night, when French riot police charged groups of fans and sprayed tear gas, the mood is good-humored.
After 150 “extremely violent” Russian hooligans stalked the streets of Marseilles looking for British fans this past Saturday, bloodying them with truncheons and sometimes knives, French authorities had a straightforward response: They stopped a busload of the suspected hooligans on Tuesday, detaining all 43 people on board, as they left Marseilles for Russia’s next match in Lille.
Uefa, which has threatened to eject Russian Federation and England from the tournament if their fans persistently misbehave, released only a brief statement in which is said it “regrets the skirmishes which occurred in Lille last night”.
The French police action in Lille followed violent clashes between Russian Federation and England fans in Marseille ahead of their European Championship opener, a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.
Dozens of Russian and English fans were arrested.
Slovakia by contrast showed a bit of spark and attacking verve in their 2-1 win over the Russians in Lille and looked like there might be more to come.
In the only Group B match played Wednesday, Slovakia beat Russian Federation 2-1 in Lille.
A second line of police then advanced from another corner of the square to force back the England fans, who were making their way towards a separate exit.
England and Wales face each other at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in the city of Lens at 2pm.
A fan sits on a road sign in Lille on Wednesday.
For the second game in a row, the Russians managed only two attempts on target and their wasteful finishing cost them dearly, with substitute Denis Glushakov’s 80th minute goal proving too little too late for them.
UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, has said Russian Federation will be expelled from the European Championship if their fans are involved in more stadium trouble.
“(Hamsik) is one of the leaders of this team along with Martin Skrtel”, said Kozak, according to Uefa.com.
He has summoned the French ambassador to explain why the authorities did not inform Russian diplomats about the incident, even though they have an obligation to do so under worldwide law.
The potential for further unrest remains as large numbers of English and Welsh supporters are in Lille ahead of their teams’ match.
The composed Slovaks, who won a match at the continental championship for the first time, exposed the ineffectiveness of a disjointed Russian side that lacked creativity until the final minutes.
Police dog handlers joined up with officers clad in riot gear to chase the England fans further up the street.
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Russian soccer authorities have been put on notice from UEFA that their team could be kicked out of Euro 2016 if there’s any repeat of the violence that marred the match in Marseille.
