
Violence spilled onto the terraces in Marseille as fans brawled with each other in the Stade Vélodrome after England's draw with Russia.

Supporters were seen fighting after the final whistle as Balaclava-clad Russian thugs ripped down English flags and ran after their rivals across rows of seats.

Hundreds of English fans were chased out of the ground by Russian hooligans as ugly scenes marred the opening of the tournament.

Fans hurled themselves over railings and worried parents were seen carrying small children away from the rioting, with stewards - rather than police - left to intervene between scuffles.

UEFA has announced that it will launch an investigation into the crowd incidents, with 2018 World Cup hosts Russia set to face the more serious action action for their part in the violence.

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English fans try to escape the violence as they are attacked by hundreds of Russian supporters in the Stade Vélodrome

Scared England supporters hurl themselves over railings to escape the hoards of attacking Russian fans in the Stade Vélodrome

Chaos breaks out in the Stade Vélodrome as Russian fans brawl with English supporters after the nations met in their opening group clash

A Russian fan kicks an English supporter as violence spreads from Marseille's streets and into the Stade Vélodrome after the 1-1 draw

Warring supporters grapple among rows of seats in the Stade Vélodrome as stewards rush to intervene after ugly scenes break out

A Russian fans rips the shirt off an England supporter as he tries to flee from the hooligans inside the ground after the match

Scared children huddle together as they try and escape the violence, while other fans are helped by stewards as they jump over railings

England fans flee in their droves as Russian hooligans chase hundreds of supports across the stands in the Stade Vélodrome

An England fan has CPR performed on him by riot police after he suffers head injuries caused by Russian fans on the third day of violence in Marseille - he is in a critical condition

The supporter is tended to by a friend as another man beckons to the authorities for help after the attack by Russian fans in Marseille

The FA condemned the brawling in Marseille with spokesman Mark Whittle saying 'the FA is very disappointed by the terrible scenes that we saw there and of course condemns such behaviour.'

He called on French authorities 'to identify those involved in the troubles and deal with them appropriately and quickly'.

European soccer's governing body, UEFA, condemned the day's events. In a statement it said: 'People engaging in such violent acts have no place in football'.

Russia's sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, has said the country's football union will probably be fined by UEFA.

He added: '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.'

Meanwhile, along the Mediterranean coast, Northern Irish fans were involved in a ugly exchanges with locals in the city of Nice that left seven people injured.

French riot police moved in after local Nice youths hurled bottles at Northern Ireland supporters in cafes near the central Place Massena.

'About 20 to 30 Nice youths started throwing bottles at the Northern Ireland fans. Some bottles were thrown back, some punches were thrown,' a Northern Ireland officer said. 'French police arrived to contain the situation.'

Northern Ireland play Poland in Group C later today. There are an estimated 10,000 Northern Ireland fans and several thousand Polish in the city for the game.

English fans carry a friend to safety after he is injured, and his clothes are ripped off, during a clash with Russian fans in the Old Port

Paramedics treat an injured fan with an oxygen mask as he lies on the pavement after violent clashes on the streets of Marseille

An England fan clashes with police in Marseille as violence in the city entered its third day -

Riot police police use a water cannon to blast jets into crowds of clashing supporters in order to separate gangs into different streets

England fans are covered in blood after suffering head injuries from clashes with rival fans on the streets of Marseille this evening

In Marseille, French police had used a water cannon to blast jets into the crowd in an effort to quell violence between warring fans in the Old Port, who continued to battle each other, local gangs and riot police.

It marked the worst day of brutality in the Old Port since violence exploded onto the streets on Thursday and Friday. Riot police originally relied on tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd but then ramped up their force to take control of the rioting.

It is believed at least 35 people are receiving treatment in hospital as a result of the brutality, including three police officers.

One England fan, 51, who had been knocked to the ground and kicked in the head during a clash with Russian fans, is still in a critical condition after he suffered a heart attack.

His friend told MailOnline: 'He got knocked to the ground and kicked in the head for nothing. He was not doing anything when some lads attacked him - French, Russian - I don't know who they were.'

He added: 'And then the police charged. They always blame the England fans but we didn't do anything.'

Fans clash in Marseille's Old Port district as violence continues for the third day in a row between English and Russian supporters

An English fan is detained by French security personnel in Marseille as the square was left resembling a war zone

A group of riot police officers restrain a fan among broken beer bottles and over-turned tables after three days of fighting in Marseille

The Russian hooligans, who were reportedly armed with knives, charged at England supporters yesterday afternoon around 3pm.

One Three Lions fan saw a fellow supporter receive a brutal beating from Russian hooligans.

Louise McMahon, from Redditch in Worcestershire, said: 'The bloke was from London and in his 30s. He was on his own and then about five or six Russians just jumped him.

'They hit and kicked him and literally ripped his England shirt off his back. They nicked his iPhone and money too. The poor bloke was really shook up.

'We got him inside the bar where we were and he's going to be OK.'

Richard Clarke, 26, from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, said he witnessed Russian hooligans 'tooling up'.

He said: 'It was almost like they were waiting for the trouble to begin and then took their chance.

'They took stuff out of the cafe we were in, glasses, bottles, ash trays, things like that. They were big blokes, the fans who got attacked by them would have stood no chance.'

Mark Reader, 60, from Bristol, said: 'I've been to lots of England games but that's the most scared I've been. The Russians were just going for anyone in an England shirt, they didn't care what age they were.

'I got split up from my mates and just decided to stand next to the riot police. I got tear gas in my eyes.'

An English fan was knocked unconscious following the attack on the supporters by Russian football hooligans

Tear gas was fired at English fans in the Old Port district as police battled to separate the two sets of supporters

A bloodied fan is detained by police after supporters clashed in Marseille

The same fan is led away by police following the clashes in the Old Port District in Marseille

The fan - soaked in blood - is put in a police van as police tried to quell the violence that has overshadowed the match

Michael Tashall from London, said: 'We were in the Old Port town and the Russian ultras ganged up with the Marseilles ultras and attacked the English supporters that were sitting there drinking beers.

'You go into town now and there are English supporters with blood pouring from their head from the Russians' attacks. They are outrageous. The World Cup in Russia should be taken away from them. It is an outrage.'

Another fan told MailOnline: 'It was the Russians that sparked it all off.

'A whole gang of the [Russians] came right into the middle of everything and started throwing punches.'

A supporter told MailOnline: 'There's this group of Russians who are proper mental. They threw everything at us - chairs, bottles - and they slashed us with knives. The French are also having a go.'

Another travelling fan said: 'There's literally an army of Russian fans marching over the hill towards the English supporters. It's absolutely crazy.'

The clashes in Marseille on Saturday came after England supporters, local French hooligans and Russian thugs battled on Friday night.

That trouble started around 6.30pm when English fans who had been drinking for most of the day at the Queen Victoria pub, pelted French officers with bottles, who then used fired tear gas at them.

Police fire tear gas at the charging supporters as they tried to disperse fans who had gathered in large numbers in the Old Port

A group of topless English supporters gesture at the Russian fans as riot police had to separate the two sets of rival fans

The England fans hurled bottles at the opposition supporters as the atmosphere turned violent ahead of the match this evening

The police, who wore full riot gear, were seen marching towards the hundreds of supporters who ran away down the street.

Later on, Russian fans joined the brawl, with drunken fans goading each other into fist fights. Witnesses said anyone who fell to the floor was kicked repeatedly.

Reports said Russian fans sparked a fight by throwing chairs and bottles at a group of England supporters. As rival gangs threw punches, riot police responded with a baton charge. The Russia fans chanted 'Rossiya' as they were chased by police.

A topless England fan hurls a bottle towards police personnel as supporters clashed amid disgraceful and horrifying scenes in Marseille

It was a scene of chaos on the Marseille streets prior to England's Group B match against Russia today as the two sets of fans clashed

An English fan is led away by plain clothed police amid disgraceful scenes in Marseille before England's opening Euro 2016 match

There were England and Russian fans seen fighting for the third successive day this afternoon, ahead of their opening game of Euro 2016

A chair was thrown through the air as violence continue to overshadow England's opening match of the Euro 2016 tournament

English and Russian fans squared off with one another as trouble continue to flare in Marseille's Old Port district this afternoon

Hours after the initial fighting outside bars, restaurants and a tourists' market, the front of a bar called 'the Red Eagle' was seen engulfed in flames as fans threw missiles at each other.

It appeared a group of English fans were targeted as they drank in the bar's terrace area and the group were then seen hurling objects and chairs at rival fans as hooliganism reared its ugly head.

It is not known if the offenders were Russian supporters or locals.

The flare-attack was one of the most shocking sights of the clashes, which has seen property damaged and a fan dumped into the sea by a French gang.

The violence has echoed the brutal scenes from the France 1998 World Cup, during the infamous 'Battle of Marseille', where English fans clashed with local hooligans after England's victory against Tunisia.

A cafe is engulfed in flames as English fans were targeted while drinking on the terrace of cafe on the streets of Marseille last night

A chair is hurled at riot police officers as violence between warring supporters continues into the night on the streets of Marseille

THE BATTLE OF MARSEILLE: ENGLAND FANS CLASH AT FRANCE '98 The sight of drunken England fans scuffling, brawling and posturing in front of lines of French police is a reminder of a hooligan culture the FA hoped had been stamped out. But despite more than 1,800 banning orders being handed out to repeat offenders prior to this summer's tournament, the dark side of English football raised its ugly head again. Battle of Marseille: England fans clashed with police and local gangs after a match against Tunisia during France '98 World Cup Many supporters will remember the last time England's fans clashed with French police - a brawl that ended with 25 arrested and unsavoury footage broadcast by the world's media. The bloodshed broke out on June 15 1998, after England's 2-0 victory against Tunisia in the group stages of the World Cup. It is believed that unsuspecting fans were provoked into a brawl by local thugs, but what followed were scenes that many had not witnessed since the days of fighting on the terraces in the 1970s and 80s. A group of 35 people were left hospitalised by the clashes and police had to use tear gas after they could not control the fighting hoards. Advertisement



