ENGLAND AND RUSSIA have been warned they could be disqualified from Euro 2016 if their supporters are involved in further violence, Uefa have announced this afternoon.
The Uefa executive committee has issued a public warning in a statement, which expressed ‘disgust for the violent clashes’ which occurred in Marseille over the last few days
The violent clashes have marred the opening weekend of the tournament with hundreds of Russian fans attacking their England counterparts at the final whistle of last night’s 1-1 at the Stade Velodrome.
On top of any punishment ordered by an investigation committee, the executive committee said “it will not hesitate to impose additional sanctions on the Football Association (FA) and the Russian Football Union (RFU), including the potential disqualification of their respective teams from the tournament, should such violence occur again.”
Dozens of people were hurt in three days of clashes in Marseille and Uefa earlier charged Russia with misconduct over the role of its fans in the unrest.
Russia was charged with crowd disturbances, racist behaviour and letting off fireworks. The result of the inquiry and sanctions are to be announced on Tuesday.
“Such unacceptable behaviour by so-called supporters of the national teams of England and Russia has no place in football, a sport we must protect and defend,” the statement continued.
“We urge both the FA and the RFS to appeal to their supporters to behave in a responsible and respectful manner.
“We would also like to publicly voice our support for the work of the French authorities and security forces for their efforts to deliver a safe and secure tournament in challenging circumstances.”
England’s next Group B game is against Wales in Lens on Thursday, a fixture which has been classed as a ‘high-risk’ one by French authorities. Russia, meanwhile, face Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday.
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