“We are sure that we are not going to be kicked out, there will be no injustice”, Slutski told a news conference after UEFA brought charges of crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behaviour against the Russian Football Union (RFU).
Advertisement
It also imposed a €150,000 ($217,000) fine.
The Euro 2016 soccer tournament in France has been overshadowed by hooligan violence on the streets, after “well-trained” Russians almost killed English supporters in Marseille Saturday.
The RFU accepted the ruling and said it would not appeal.
“The punishment is excessive, but we can not influence it. The fine is enormous as the Russian Football Union is a non-commercial organisation. It is not guilty”, he said.
While Dyke condemned the “abhorrent scenes” involving some English fans in Marseille, he said UEFA was wrong to say English supporters were in part to blame for the fighting inside the stadium after the final whistle of the 1-1 draw.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls reportedly said that some supporters “will be deported because some people can not stay on national territory”.
She added: “We will have a strong police presence with more than 1,200 police officers present in Lens and you can add 1,200 more with the private security that will be mobilised that day”.
But he said the French police were “over zealous and heavy handed”.
The minister also spoke out the arrest of 43 Russian fans as they traveled from Marseille to Lille on Tuesday, questioning the legality of the move.
England face Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday while Russian Federation take on Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday, and that in turn could see further trouble.
He said: “They were supporting us very well during the England game and I hope they will continue to do so during the group phase and other games”.
England was also warned that they would be disqualified if fans continued to behave poorly.
He urged French security to step up their measures. The video shows an nearly military like operation launched by the Russiand fans in an attempt to injure England fans. Ten people, including six England fans, have been sentenced to prison terms over the Marseille battles.
The police “demanded that they get off the bus for document and identification checks”, Lavrov said in parliament.
England captain Wayne Rooney and manager Roy Hodgson have made a public appeal to the country’s fans to avoid violence.
Advertisement
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.
