Russian sports minister: More Russian fan violence at Euros possible - TASS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Wednesday he could not rule out Russian football fans being involved in more violence at the Euro 2016 tournament in France because they were constantly being provoked, the TASS news agency reported.

Russian sports minister: More Russian fan violence at Euros possible - TASS

(Reuters)





Russia, whose fans fought pitched battles in Marseille at the weekend with their English counterparts, is due to play Slovakia later on Wednesday in Lille where English and Welsh fans have gathered ahead of their two teams' game on Thursday.

"I do not have any certainty that disorder involving Russian fans will not be repeated," TASS quoted Mutko as saying. "Our fans are constantly being provoked. And whatever happens it is immediately said that the Russians are guilty."

Russian state TV on Wednesday broadcast what it said was footage of an English football fan stamping on a Russian flag in Lille, part of what Russian officials say has been a pattern of offensive provocations towards Russian supporters.

UEFA has said Russia will be thrown out of the tournament if there is a repeat of the violence by Russia fans which marred the end of last Saturday's match against England.

"There are now 15-20,000 Russians in different towns (in France)," Mutko was cited as saying. "Most of them want to watch good football."





(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Jason Bush)


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world