French police “overslept” the recent fan riots in Marseille and are now trying to justify their inaction by detaining members of the Russian Football Fans’ Association, football expert Andrei Malosolov told Sputnik.
“That hellish three-day binge in Marseilles and the Old Port area with police doing nothing to stop it is a glaring example of failed security we see during this tournament,” he emphasized.
Several Russian fans were detained following a series of violent scuffles with English supporters that flared up after the Russia-England game in Marseilles, and remain in police custody pending deportation.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, England fans stomped on and otherwise desecrated the Russian flag in Lille. For some strange reason French police preferred to ignore this outrageous act, which provoked a violent response from the Russian supporters.
English fans jump on Russian flag #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/kEEZ3CsUfH
— Max Allanazarov (@KyKyPyKy22) June 14, 2016
As a result, the Russian team was handed a suspended disqualification and the 150,000 euro fine by the UEFA.
“We only had one sector of the stadium to ourselves, there were between 10,000 and 15,000 of us there against some 70,000 Brits at the stadium alone, there were more of them in the city,” one Russian fan said.
“There were small scuffles flaring up as the day wore on. The Brits, fans and ultras alike, eventually started pelting us with bottles, coins, whatever. They occupied the entire city center. We had no T-shirts on, but everyone could see who we were and where we had come from.”
Another Russian fan also complained about the indecent behavior of the English supporters who made obscene gestures, lobbed cups and bottles at the Russians, especially after Vasily Berezutski equalized in injury time to earn a draw for Russia.
