More violent scenes mar England v Russia clash at Euro 2016

Russia are facing serious UEFA sanctions after their fans appeared to attack England supporters at the end of Saturday's Euro 2016 clash.
England ahead - until the dying minutes.England ahead - until the dying minutes.
England ahead - until the dying minutes.

Sickening scenes marred the build-up to the Group B clash, with bottles, chairs and fists thrown during three days of trouble involving a mixture of English, Russian and French fans in Marseille.

There appeared a calmer atmosphere inside the Stade Velodrome, only for mass clashes to overshadow an entertaining 1-1 draw in which Vasili Berezutsky's late header cancelled out an Eric Dier free-kick.

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After flares and a firecracker were let off in the closing minutes - both items are banned from ground - Russian fans appeared to attack English supporters, breaking through barriers in the South Stand.

Those under attack were seen running for safety.

Press Association Sport understands Russia face sanctions for the disorder and flares, although the exact details will depend on when the UEFA reports are received.

Following the days of trouble, England's head of media relations Mark Whittle read a statement in the post-press conference.

"We regret the trouble in Marseille today," he said. "The FA is very disappointed about the terrible scenes of disorder and of course condemns such behaviour.

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"It is now in the hands of the relevant authorities to identify those involved in trouble and deal with them appropriately and quickly.

"At this time the FA urges England supporters to act in a respectful manner and support England in the right way."

Before the match, as many as 20 England fans were injured, with reportedly several seriously hurt, in bloody clashes between rival fans around the Old Port area.

French police used a water cannon and tear gas on rioters as fist fights and bottle throwing broke out - incidents condemned strongly before kick-off by UEFA

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"People engaging in such violent acts have no place in football," European football's governing body said in a statement.

"UEFA can only take disciplinary action for incidents which happen within the stadium perimeter."

Russia striker Artem Dzyuba made a point of thanking Russian fans after the match.

That was a curious and potentially provocative stance given the fact he cannot have failed to see flares or heard the firecracker, even if later events escaped his attention.

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"I thank all our fans. It was a really warm atmosphere tonight," he told UEFA.

"We used everything here to equalise and this is also down to them."

Russian manager Leonid Slutsky and England counterpart Roy Hodgson were was asked for their thoughts on the disturbances but both felt unable to offer substantial comment.

"We were focused on the game, so I'm not really up to speed with what's been going on outside the stadium," said Slutsky.

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"But, clearly, that (violence) is not good to go hand in hand with football."

Hodgson, before deferring to Whittle for the official association statement, said: "Those matters are FA matters and not football coaching matters, but we weren't particularly aware of them and they didn't affect our preparations or performance."

Rebekah Vardy, the new wife of England striker Jamie, had earlier tweeted angrily about the treatment of fans prior to the match.

"That has to be up there with the worst experience EVER at an away game! Teargassed for no reason, caged and treated like animals! Shocking!" she posted.

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"I witnessed this with my own eyes! I can't comment on things I didn't see but what I got caught up in was horrific and uncalled for!

"And this happened before the game even kicked off!"

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko attempted to downplay the incidents inside Stade Velodrome and was quoted by Russia Today as saying: "There was no clash...that's being exaggerated, in fact everything is fine here.

"When the match ended, there was no barrier between the fans. The British were upset, of course, but it all quickly dissolved.

"Such matches should be organized properly. It is necessary to separate the fans. The bad thing is that there were firecrackers and flares."