Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

02:00 PM-06:00 PM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Soccer

UEFA hand Russia a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016

Russia has been handed a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016 over crowd disturbances at the...



UEFA hand Russia a suspended d...
Soccer

UEFA hand Russia a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016

Russia has been handed a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016 over crowd disturbances at the game against England in Marseille.

UEFA announced its decision as a group of Russian football fans faced being thrown out of France - and Go-Pro footage appeared to demonstrate that attacks on English supporters in Marseille before the match were well-planned.

The Russian football federation was also fined €150,000 - and the national team will be kicked out of the tournament if there is any repeat of the violence inside the Stade Velodrome in its remaining games, UEFA said.

The identities of 29 Russian fans were being checked at a hotel near the southern French port city, but authorities told AFP a decision had already been taken to move some of them to a holding centre at the border. 

French police are checking to see if any of the Russians are on a list of supporters "considered a risk", said Francois-Xavier Lauch, a top local official in the Alpes-Maritimes area.

The head of a Russian supporters' group said a bus carrying fans on their way to Lille - where there are fears of further violence this week - was stopped near Cannes

"They want to deport almost 50 people including women who did not take part in anything," Alexander Shprygin, president of the Russian Supporters Union, told Reuters by phone.

"The police are making up for their mistakes three days ago. We are in a bus in Cannes and we have been blocked in by riot police. We are not going anywhere for the time being."

He later said the Russian consul had arrived on the scene, preventing what he said was a planned storming of the bus by the police.

Euro 2016 organisers are concerned about the presence of 150 hardcore Russian hooligans who orchestrated violence in Marseille and who the French authorities have described as "hyper violent and hyper rapid".

GoPro footage posted online by Russian thugs suggests some of the scenes in Marseille that have overshadowed the start of the tournament were premeditated and well-orchestrated.

The individual wearing the camera around his waist - who can be clearly identified from press photographs of the violence - is seen appearing to stamp on an England supporter at one point.

The Kremlin has urged Russian fans in France not to react to "provocations" and called on Russian sporting officials to use their influence to ensure supporters behave themselves. 

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Soccer