Russia’s preparations for their second Euro 2016 Group B game against Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday have been overshadowed by Uefa’s threat to kick Leonid Slutsky’s team out of the competition.
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One fan, George Amos, said 300 uniformed Russians “looking like the black death squad” had attacked him and his brother, wearing gumshields and MMA (mixed martial arts) gloves.
The following afternoon England meet Wales in Lens – but police advised both sets of British fans before the tournament to book accommodation in Lille due to a shortage of hotel rooms in Lens.
On Tuesday, Moscow again urged Russian fans to observe the laws of the country they are visiting.
“Supporters were able to get in with fireworks and flares, and then let them off, and there was insufficient segregation between the Russian and English fans”.
They included Alexander Shprygin, a far-right figure who is head of a Russian football supporters group and works as an aide to nationalist politician Igor Lebedev. He has dismissed the allegations.
The football body opened an investigation into Russian fan behavior following their clashes with England fans at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome on Saturday.
Russian Federation was also fined €150,000 ($168,000).
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said there will be no appeal against the UEFA decision as a formal protest would make “no sense”.
“The punishment is excessive, but we can not influence it”, he said. “It is not guilty”.
“We strongly believe that such behaviour is not the norm for our citizens who are travelling to support the Russian national team in France”, the Russian Fans’ Embassy team said in a message posted on the Football Supporters Europe website.
Scenes of rival fans wielding metal bars and hurling beer bottles in street clashes in Marseille, as well as incidents in Nice, Lille and Paris, have turned attention away from events on the pitch. Police responded with volleys of tear gas and baton charges.
Fifteen fans were arrested at the time.
A Russian MP and executive member of the country’s football union has praised Russian hooligans at the European Championships, saying they should “keep it up”.
“We will be following the decision of UEFA and there must be no other stance of the RFU”.
He called for an urgent meeting of the Lille and Lens police authorities to draw up an “effective” security plan. Supermarkets will be banned from selling any alcohol from 6am.
UEFA have warned English and Russian officials that their teams will be sent home if the trouble continues.
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It comes as the first fan to appear in a United Kingdom court over the trouble in France was handed a five-year football banning order, after a police “spotter” in the United Kingdom saw video of the man “throwing a chair”.
