ENGLAND and Russia have been warned by Uefa that more fan disorder could see them expelled from Euro 2016 and English Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn is treating the threat with the "utmost seriousness".
Ugly clashes in Marseille marred the build-up to Saturday's eagerly-anticipated Group B clash, with English, Russian and French fans involved in trouble over three days. Trouble in the Old Port area continued inside the Stade Velodrome and a number of supporters were left injured as a result of the incidents, with one England fan in a critical condition in hospital.
Uefa was swift to open disciplinary proceedings against the Football Union of Russia for alleged crowd disturbances, racist behaviour and the setting off of fireworks towards the end of the game. England avoided any charge, but the executive committee of European football's governing body has warned it is ready to impose the ultimate sanction if similar trouble rears its head again.
"The Uefa executive committee would like to express its disgust for the violent clashes which occurred in the city of Marseille," a Uefa statement read.
"Such unacceptable behaviour by so-called supporters of the national teams of England and Russia has no place in football, a sport we must protect and defend. The Uefa executive committee has warned both football associations that, irrespective of any decisions taken by the independent disciplinary bodies relating to incidents inside the stadium, it will not hesitate to impose additional sanctions on the Football Association (FA) and the Russian Football Union (RFU), including the potential disqualification of their respective teams from the tournament, should such violence occur again.
"We urge both the FA and the RFU to appeal to their supporters to behave in a responsible and respectful manner. We would also like to publicly voice our support for the work of the French authorities and security forces for their efforts to deliver a safe and secure tournament in challenging circumstances."
Uefa's threat came after FA chief executive Glenn spoke about the "shocking" and "upsetting" violence inside the Stade Velodrome, urging England fans to stay out of trouble for the remainder of Euro 2016.
That interview was filmed before Uefa's strongly-worded statement though, and Glenn later said in a statement the FA had taken heed of the governing body's warning: "We take this letter from Uefa with the utmost seriousness.
"We understand the potential implications of our supporters' actions and wholly accept that every effort needs to be made by the FA to positively urge them to act in a responsible and respectful way. Violent scenes like those witnessed over the weekend in Marseille have no place in football, nor society as a whole. We want people - fans and locals - to feel safe and enjoy a festival atmosphere at the Euros and we will continue to work closely with all the relevant authorities to achieve that."
England supporters were involved in running battles with French police in the centre of Marseille at the 1998 World Cup and problems on Thursday evening proved a precursor for more issues. Four years ago, Uefa imposed a series of sanctions on Russia, including a €120,000 (£96,000) fine, for their fans' behaviour in the previous European Championship, held in Poland and Ukraine.
Russia has long been dogged with issues relating to racism and observers from Fare, the anti-discrimination and social inclusion network, were at the Stade Velodrome on Saturday. Uefa's charge for racist behaviour is understood to relate to a banner displaying the Celtic cross emblem, with connotations of France's Vichy government of World War II.
There are understandable fears of more problems this week, given England take on Wales in Lens - a small city just 23 miles from Lille, where Russia face Slovakia. Fear of a more violence has prompted the British government to send additional police to help their French counterparts ahead of Thursday's match.
Downing Street said British home secretary Theresa May made the offer during a meeting with her counterpart, the French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve. A Downing Street spokeswoman said, while officers have been in France since before the tournament began, they had offered to send more "to support the security operation around the match in Lens".
The French government has announced an alcohol ban in "sensitive areas" around Euro 2016 matches: "Several prefects have already imposed restrictions on the sale, transportation and consumption of alcohol," Cazeneuve said.
He condemned the events in Marseille as unacceptable and said the police enforcement system which was in place had been "properly-sized": "The events that occurred last night in Marseille are unacceptable. Unacceptable to the government, socially unacceptable, unacceptable for football lovers.
"We witnessed violence between fans, caused by alcoholic hordes who have engaged in unacceptable abuses. The law and order system in place in Marseille yesterday was properly-sized. It was reactive and helped restore calm in an hour and-a-half, separating the highly alcoholic protagonists."
British culture, media and sport secretary John Whittingdale said: "The scenes that occurred between a small minority of fans in Marseille were extremely concerning.
"The vast majority of supporters in France simply want to play their part in a great festival of football. We want fans of all teams to enjoy themselves, but to be respectful of others and the local authorities. We urge supporters to remain calm. We welcome Uefa's investigation into the incident in the stadium last night and remain in contact with Euro 2016 organisers and the FA. We stand ready to assist further in any way that we can."
Meanwhile, there were also reports of violent clashes between Germany and Ukraine fans ahead of their match in Lille on Sunday night.
