Euro 2016: Russia handed €150k fine, may be disqualified if more fan violence

Author: RT

June 14, 2016 at 08:51

The Russian Football Uni-on has been officially warned by UEFA that the national team will be expelled f-rom Euro 2016 if Russian fans are involved in more violent episodes. In addition, the federation has been fined €150,000 ($168,000).

The fine follows the clashes between Russian and English football fans in Marseille, southern France, the UEFA press servicesaid in a press-release. The violence took place in the run-up to and immediately after the game between the two national teams on Saturday, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Russian team has also been handed a suspended disqualification until the end of the championship.

"This decision only relates to the incidents which occurred inside the stadium and are therefore under the jurisdiction of the UEFA Disciplinary Bodies," the association said.

"Such suspension will be lifted if incidents of a similar nature (crowd disturbances) happen inside the stadium at any of the remaining matches of the Russian team during the tournament."

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko called the punishment imposed on the Russian Football Uni-on “excessive,” yet said it will not be appealed.

“A disciplinary verdict has been carried out, we’re awaiting formal notification. We will abide by the UEFA decision – what other al-ternatives does the Russian Football Uni-on have?” Mutko said.

Mutko has said that so far only four Russian fans will be sent home, with the remaining members of the football fans federation being allowed to attend the match against Slovakia on Wednesday. It has also been reported that the Russian consul in Marseille has managed to prevent the deportation of two female Russian fans.

Clashes on Saturday left several dozen fans injured and resulted in 11 arrests. In total, seven English football fans, three Frenchmen, and an Austrian have received prison sentences in France for taking part in violence ahead of the England-Russia game in Marseille.

On Tuesday, Moscow again urged Russian fans to observe the laws of the country they are visiting.

Bus with 50 Russian #EURO2016 fans blocked, searched by French police https://t.co/GEmnXbpSa6
— RT (@RT_com) June 14, 2016

“Above all, we’d like to call on our fans not to react to any kind of provocations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Let’s support our team in a respectful way.”