One England supporter seriously injured in Marseille after being kicked repeatedly in the head, while another is reported to be in critical condition

Two England supporters have been seriously injured in Marseille after violent clashes with rival fans before and after England’s opening Euro 2016 group match against Russia.

A number of other fans were also in hospital, the British ambassador to France said early on Sunday, after a day and night of chaos in the French city.

Marseille’s emergency services said 31 people were injured in the disorder, including one middle-aged man who was knocked unconscious, and one England supporter who suffered a heart attack.

Euro 2016 clashes: Russian media vaunt own fans and put blame on English Read more

The British ambassador, Julian King, tweeted that “a number of Brits in hospital overnight. Consular following closely with French authorities”.

After running battles between England and Russia fans in the old port area in the hours before the match, trouble flared in the Stade Velodrome at the end of the Group B match.

England fans were seen fleeing a section of the stadium after they were charged by group of what appeared to be Russia fans, some of them wearing balaclavas, who had set off fireworks and punched through a line of stewards.

Police later used tear gas to disperse fans in the city as trouble continued after the game. It was reported that the metro system was shut down following an accident.

It is understood that Uefa will open disciplinary proceedings over the stadium violence, with the Russian Football Union potentially facing strong sanctions.

“We will have a fine from Uefa, so I understand. We behaved incorrectly,” Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko said on Sunday, according to R-Sport news agency.

Further along the Mediterranean coast, there were reports of attacks on Northern Ireland football fans by local “ultras” in Nice, where the side will play Poland on Sunday.



Earlier, police had to resuscitate one 51-year-old fan after he was repeatedly kicked in the head before the match on Saturday, apparently by several Russian fans, leaving him unconscious. Witnesses claimed he had also been attacked with a small axe leaving his head bleeding “like a tap”, although the allegation could not be immediately verified.

Another was said to be in critical condition while several more bloodied England fans nursed head wounds and needed attention from emergency services, including one fan who was filmed being dragged to the ground and stamped on.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Clashes break out in the stands during the Euro 2016 Group B soccer match between England and Russia. Photograph: Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People in Marseille’s old port area run away after police use tear gas to disperse rival groups following England’s match against Russia. Photograph: Tolga Bozoglu/EPA

Clashes between English and Russian supporters near the stadium also embroiled the wife of England striker Jamie Vardy. Rebekah Vardy had to be rescued by police from a brasserie close to where teargas was released by police seeking to disperse crowds.



The violent scenes, in which hundreds of English fans were willing participants, drew claims that the nation had been “embarrassed” by a new bout of English hooliganism, overshadowing a game that ended in a 1-1 draw after Eric Dier had given England the lead before Russia equalised in injury time.

However, while English fans said they had gathered in large numbers, they claimed that they were not the ones to instigate the violence and blamed more than 200 Russian and French hooligans for attacking them. Several said the French riot police, engaged in a running battle with English fans for the third day in a row, escalated the problem through heavy-handed tactics.

“They have caused a lot of the trouble by using teargas needlessly,” said Harrison Biggins, 20, from Sheffield.

Michael Tashall, from London, was in Marseille as the violence erupted. “We were in the old port town and the Russian ultras ganged up with the Marseille ultras and attacked the English supporters that were sitting there drinking beers,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A projectile is launched in the streets of Marseille ahead of the England v Russia match. Photograph: Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

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

Once the trouble escalated police deployed water cannon and teargas in the most severe scenes of violence seen at an international fixture since the last time the England national team played a major event in Marseille, during the 1998 Fifa World Cup.

Former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe told the Observer that it was an embarrassing day for the country.

“I thought we had got past this, I really did,” Sutcliffe said. “The French and British police should perhaps be cooperating more. But I have to ask: what more can be done? Those involved in the violence should be prosecuted.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead officer for football policing, assistant chief constable Mark Roberts, who is liaising with the French authorities, promised that would happen.

He said: “We are aware of an incident taking place in Marseille. We are currently working with French police to identify supporters who have been involved. Investigations will continue in the UK to ensure any British fans who may have been involved will be identified and dealt with accordingly.”

By the time the French police rolled out the fortified vehicle with the water cannon at 5.30pm, the damage had been done. Green glass from broken bottles hurled by England fans covered the ground around Marseille’s old port. And the reputation of English football had once again been dragged through the mud.

What had been boisterous but largely peaceful behaviour of English fans gave way to open acts of thuggery five hours before the match kicked off.

While it cannot be said that the violence came out of nowhere – given the violent scenes witnessed over the previous 48 hours – the change in atmosphere around the port was sudden. Some said that passing French hooligans had started some trouble and had thrown bottles. They said the English had then thrown some back. Whatever the provocation may have been, the result was that the French riot police then started to march towards the congregated English fans carrying teargas around 3pm. And the English responded as they so often have in the past – with violence.

They threw chairs, bottles and even tables at the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité – riot control officers – who responded by firing their canisters of teargas and striking any fans who ventured close. The thuggery then escalated. A group of around 200 Russian hooligans charged English fans congregating outside the bars and hotels around the port. “They came out of nowhere,” said one witness. And for the next few hours Marseille’s city centre was in bedlam as hooligans and innocent people rampaged or fled down the narrow streets looking for trouble or cover.

Uefa condemned the violence, but said it would take action against the Football Association or Russian Football Federation only if incidents flared within the confines of a stadium. Moments after the final whistle they did, when a group of Russian hooligans jumped over barriers separating fans and charged England supporters who fled for the exits.

A spokesman for Uefa said it would await the report from its disciplinary department before commenting on scenes in the Stade Vélodrome at the end.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Supporters clash in the stands after the UEFA Euro 2016 group B preliminary round match between England and Russia. Photograph: Daniel Dal Zennaro/EPA

It was unclear how many England fans were arrested – one was seen being carted away – but many should have been. Another was arrested in the stadium, although the reason was not immediately clear.

Chris Hobbs, a former Scotland Yard officer with expertise in policing football, said that the French police were an “unenviable position”.

“If you follow how the French police operate at football games, they are being extremely restrained this time,” Hobbs said.

“I think, after the initial violence on Thursday in Marseille, they are reacting whenever they see boisterous groups and are hoping to disperse them. And they are using tear gas to keep a distance between them and the fans. Because if the French police do get close, people are going to get hurt. And it will be the English fans.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest French riot police patrol the streets of Marseille on Saturday night. Photograph: Oliver Weiken/EPA

He added: “To be honest, I don’t envy the French police. When Marseille was drawn for this game, everyone took a big breath. You have the English fans, the Russians and the Marseille ultra fans there.”

Away from the old port, the scenes were more peaceful. Crowds of England fans were segregated from Russians on the 80,000-capacity zone on Prado beach, about a mile from the Stade Vélodrome. Around 20,000 English fans had travelled to Marseille despite serious warnings from British ministers of a terrorist attack. Those suggestions were based on the discovery of a computer belonging to Salah Abdeslam, the only surviving member of last November’s Paris attacks. Abdeslam is on remand in a high-security prison in Paris from where he has confirmed that Islamic State wants to launch another attack.

But the French authorities have organised a major security operation. The security at the game is believed to be the tightest of any match on the continent with surface-to-air missiles placed on rooftops and on prominent hills in the city. Dozens of police snipers were said to be in strategic positions; and fast patrol boats were understood to be operating in the Mediterranean.

“It is a bit shocking for us Brits when you see police with guns, but it is reassuring,” said Gareth Davies, 46, an engineer, from Hertford. But what about the English hooliganism? As the former Labour MP and sports minister Sutcliffe suggested: “There doesn’t seem much that can be done to solve that.”