England, Russia & Wales fan trouble in Lille
England and Wales fans appear to have been caught up in violent clashes with Russian fans in video footage posted on social media.
Mobile phone video posted on Twitter showed two sets of fans facing off outside a bar, with chairs strewn across the pavement on the Place de la Gare, in central Lille.
A group of people, some wearing football shirts, could be heard chanting “We’re England and Wales, f*** off Russia” as police and security staff tried to calm the situation.
The footage shows a man in a suit shouting “allez”, French for “go”, to hooded and masked fans posturing towards the England and Wales supporters outside Le Palais de la Biere bar next to the city’s Hotel Continental.
He attempts to set chairs and tables right again before police officers move in between the two groups of fans.
Members of the public could also be seen gathering and taking photos of the melee.
The fresh attack comes after Uefa handed Russia a suspended disqualification from the tournament following the crowd disturbances at the game against the Three Lions in Marseille on Saturday.
The country was warned that any further disturbances from the nation’s supporters would see them kicked out of the competition.
The Football Association (FA) were warned previously that further disorder could lead to the England team also being expelled from the tournament, even though the FA was not formally charged by the European football governing body.
A huge security operation surrounding England’s next Euro 2016 football match has been bolstered, with extra British police being deployed to France ahead of the next round of Group B matches.
Authorities in both England and Russia have appealed for supporters to behave in the wake of disorder in Marseille.
French police arrested 43 Russian fans suspected of being involved in trouble at the weekend after stopping a bus in the Alpes-Maritimes region in the south of the country on Tuesday, according to local media reports.
And UK police are also assisting the investigation into the Marseille melee by scouring CCTV, social media and press images to identify any fans who were involved, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said.
English fans suspected of disorder could face court action when they return to the UK in the form of football banning orders, the NPCC spokeswoman warned.
NPCC lead for football policing, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts appealed for witnesses to send police any footage and said: “A number of images of those involved in disorder have been collated and work continues to identify those involved.”
Concerns have been raised about the security of fans as England prepare to take on Wales in Lens on Thursday and Russia play Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday, with the northern French cities just 23 miles apart.
