In the aftermath of the violence in the old port of Marseilles last weekend, much of the British media – together with the Football Association – lamented the latest outbreak of the English disease.

Geoff Pearson observed in The Times that "England fans have form in Marseilles". Zoe Williams in The Guardian thought English officialdom had "infantilised" football crowds, thus creating conditions for "a comical menu of grievance" concerning "the other".

Less originally, the FA considered that "while the vast majority of England fans behaved impeccably", a small but "aggressive hard core" engaged in violence and "score settling".

Threatened with expulsion from the competition, the England Manager, Roy Hodgson, publicly appealed to supporters to "stay out of trouble", while Wayne Rooney called for fans to "be safe [and] be sensible".