Even the lips of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were displeased with the strict actions of French officials in suppressing Russian football hooligans, but now the Russians themselves admit that there are many detainees.
The representative of the Russian Embassy in France, Sergei Parinov, stated that there is enough evidence in the case of three fans sentenced to imprisonment for riots in Marseille.
"The French have sufficient evidence - recordings from surveillance cameras, drones, drones that help identify these specific people," - the news agency "RIA-Novosti" quotes S. Parinov.
On Thursday, a French court sentenced Nikolai Morozov, Alexei Yerunov, and Sergey Gorbachev to imprisonment for one to two years for the disturbances in Marseille during violent clashes with English fans.
France also decided to deport two dozen Russian hooligans, including one member of the Russian Football Supporters Association, who is notorious for extreme nationalist views, Alexander Shprygin.
He and other hooligans were detained on their way from Marseille to Lille, where the Russian national team played against Slovakia on Wednesday. A. Shprygin was caught in France displaying Nazi salutes.
Russian hooligans attacked English fans in bars or on the streets. It turned out that about 140 well-organized and trained Russian football hooligans traveled to Marseille.
The most notable incidents occurred when, after the final England-Russia match whistle (1-1), they attacked rival fans. They ran through unprotected stands, and the English had to save themselves by climbing over a protective barrier.
UEFA stated that if Russian fans cause disturbances in the stadium again, the team will be sent home.
After the match in Marseille, the bloody clashes did not end. Russians rampaged in Marseille all night, and the next day, a video appeared in the media showing Russian fans kicking an Englishman and shouting "Die!"
When the Russian national team left for Lille, hooligans followed them. It was during the trip that French police stopped several buses to check the arrivals.
Some of them were arrested by the French, but in Lille, the Russians managed to gather again with the English. However, in Lille, it was mainly violent English fans who were subdued by the police with tear gas once again.
In Russia, videos began to spread showing English fans singing and trampling on the Russian flag.
On Wednesday, the French ambassador was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow - to explain the detentions. Russia publicly stated that hooliganism is not welcomed, but the country "cannot turn a blind eye to violations of international agreements."
Russia claimed that the arrest of fans "could worsen relations between France and Russia," and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the French violated their commitments under the Vienna Convention.
lrytas.lt
