{"id":516,"date":"2016-06-15T21:15:28","date_gmt":"2016-06-15T20:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/?p=516"},"modified":"2023-05-31T18:48:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T17:48:09","slug":"russian-hooligans-savage-organised-say-england-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/2016\/06\/15\/russian-hooligans-savage-organised-say-england-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian hooligans were savage and organised, say England fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThey were very organised,\u201d said Ian Allsop, a builder from Luton. \u201cThey wore gumshields, some had England shirts on to mix in.
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\"PoweredThis article titled “Russian hooligans were savage and organised, say England fans” was written by Daniel Boffey in Marseille, for theguardian.com on Sunday 12th June 2016 14.37 UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

England fans embroiled in violence in Marseille on Saturday night have said groups of Russian hooligans launched \u201csavage coordinated attacks\u201d around the city, disguised in English club shirts and equipped with gumshields and telescopic truncheons.<\/p>\n

Roaming Russian fans approached the violence, which occurred before and after England\u2019s opening Euro 2016 game in Marseille, with \u201cmilitary organisation\u201d, fans said, as Uefa opened disciplinary proceedings<\/a> against Russia\u2019s football union.<\/p>\n

Calling cards were posted on lampposts around the Old Port area of town, seemingly to guide the hooligans as to where to congregate before acts of violence that even seasoned travellers with England said were the worst they had experienced.<\/p>\n

Rebekah Vardy, the wife of the England striker Jamie, had to be escorted from a brasserie near the stadium after riot police teargassed marauding hooligans. <\/p>\n

She tweeted<\/a> on Sunday: \u201cThat has to be up there with the worst experience EVER at an away game! Teargassed for no reason, caged and treated like animals! Shocking! I witnessed this with my own eyes! I can\u2019t comment on things I didn\u2019t see but what I got caught up in was horrific and uncalled for!\u201d<\/p>\n

Uefa said its control, ethics and disciplinary bodies had opened a case against Russia over its supporter\u2019 storming of the England end of the Stade Velodrome at the end of the game, racist behaviour during the match and the use of fireworks.<\/p>\n

It said it would judge the case on Tuesday, before Russia\u2019s second Euro 2016 Group B match against Slovakia on Wednesday, and would implement \u201ccorrective measures\u201d to strengthen security at stadiums as a result of \u201csegregation issues\u201d.<\/p>\n

The majority of the 35 people injured on Saturday, four of them seriously, were attacked outside the stadium.<\/p>\n

\"Russia
Russia fans (rear) face England fans in a street in the Old Port area of Marseille.<\/span> Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo\/EPA<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A police officer had to administer CPR to a 51-year-old man in the Old Port after he was struck on the head with a weapon and repeatedly kicked on the ground. He is said to be critically ill. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne Englishman is still in hospital hovering between life and death,\u201d a police spokesman said. \u201cHe is in a critical condition after his heart stopped before revival.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday morning friends of the man dropped off his bags at the Timone hospital on the outskirts of the city, before leaving Marseille without having been allowed to visit him. The two men in their 50s declined to speak about the condition of their friend.<\/p>\n

A hospital source said: \u201cThe consulate told his two friends to bring his bags down and leave them with the doctors, but they were not able to visit or see him as they were not his direct family. They just left the hospital and said they had a train to catch.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the days preceding the worst of the violence on Saturday evening, there were confrontations between England fans and French riot police. There were widely reported incidents of British visitors to the town chanting loudly and throwing bottles when confronted by the authorities. <\/p>\n

England fans leaving Marseille from the St Charles train station on Sunday, however, said Russians had appeared intent on attacking them from the moment they appeared in the Old Port part of Marseille on Saturday afternoon. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very organised,\u201d said Ian Allsop, a builder from Luton. \u201cThey wore gumshields, some had England shirts on to mix in. They were there to do the English. And they were thickset, stocky guys. People were getting bottles smashed on their heads, bats smashed into them. Loads of people were hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allsop said he had been looking for his 24-year-old son during the violence when he was attacked. \u201cAbout 300 Russians came out of nowhere. They just walked straight through all the England fans who were standing about singing,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Russians just started hitting anyone they could.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne went to punch me, I ducked and punched him back to defend myself. I had to. But then someone took a bat to my arm. It is killing me today. I have got tickets for the semi-final but I wouldn\u2019t come if it was here. Later, on the way to the game, a group of locals starting spitting at us. We told them to stop and they took out knives on us. The police were nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Martyn
Martyn Lowe suffered broken ribs and a black eye.<\/span> Photograph: Daniel Boffey\/The Guardian<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Martyn Lowe, 28, from Stoke-on-Trent, a self-employed delivery driver and father of two, was left with broken ribs and a black eye after being knocked unconscious in an attack.<\/p>\n

Lowe said: \u201cI\u2019m here with a group of 10 mates. We were outside the Queen Victoria pub in the Old Port having some beers. Then at least three or four hundred Russians came marching through. One of them hit me on the head with a bottle and as I reeled punched me in the face. I had no idea how many were attacking me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came at me from every direction. I was trying to get away but the next thing I was on the floor. They must have kicked me on the floor because I\u2019ve got broken ribs. It looked like they were very organised. I was taken to hospital. I woke up in the ambulance, covered in blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy trainers were stolen, \u00a3100 in my wallet and an iPhone 6. If that\u2019s the way they get their kicks then fair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Wakefield, 40, from York, travelled to Marseille with his friend Chris Snowdon, 39, from Fleet, Hampshire. Wakefield said they would not now attend an upcoming Russia game for which they have tickets. \u201cWe were walking to the ground minding our own business when the Russians attacked,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was a big group of them. They came running at us and were kicking and hitting people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a smack round the head and have a cut eye. I lost my phone after being knocked down.I couldn\u2019t get in touch with Chris. I went into the ground but left at half-time because I was bleeding and shaken.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so sad. The police had been great, firm but sensible. Then the Russians went berserk. Funnily enough, we\u2019ve got tickets for Russia against Slovakia in Lille. There\u2019s no way we\u2019re going now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keith Moore, 52, from Manchester, said: \u201cWe were being hit constantly. We were just standing around having some beers and a bit of food on Saturday afternoon when around 25 Russians steamed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could easily see who they were. They had black T-shirts with Russian writing on, and were all extremely muscular. They didn\u2019t muck about. They picked out English blokes to attack, and then ran off when the police arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Russians
Russians in Marseille.<\/span> Photograph: Stewart Kendall\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar<\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Concerns for the safety of England fans as the tournament progresses have been raised by the shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham, who called for Theresa May, the home secretary, to make a statement in parliament.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe whole country will have been appalled by the frightening scenes of violence in Marseille. As ever, a minority of troublemakers have soured what should have been an enjoyable occasion and put the safety of innocent people at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the England fans are not blameless, it is clear that the situation changed yesterday and they were subject to extreme provocation and violence. With the rest of the tournament to go, there are concerns for the safety of supporters of all home nations. <\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the seriousness of situation, I am surprised by the silence from the government. That is why I am calling on the home secretary to make an urgent statement to parliament tomorrow on the actions she is proposing to take, working with the French authorities and Uefa, to prevent any repeat of what we have seen.\u201d <\/p>\n

Dasha Timofeeva, 27, a Russia fan who was at the game with her father, Viktor, said the event had been poorly policed, and she was ashamed of the behaviour of some of her compatriots. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are of course sorry to the English who got hurt, but please believe us that not all Russian people are like these hooligans,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a hooligan sub-culture in Russia and sorry but there is nothing us fans can do about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very surprised that there were no police in the stadium. Why not? In Russia the police are very strong and keep the hooligans in control. There was no control in the stadium last night.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut also, the English fans were not kind either. My father and I were in the Old Port and had to run away from the bottles and gas. Other England supporters said sorry to us. So both countries have good and bad people at football matches.\u201d <\/p>\n

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010<\/p>\n

Published via the Guardian News Feed<\/a> plugin<\/a> for WordPress.<\/p>\n

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