UEFA threaten Russia and England with Euro Cup exit
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PARIS: (APP) UEFA on Sunday threatened to kick Russia and England out of the European Championship finals if their fans are involved in more violence.
The threat followed three days of violence in Marseille, culminating in pitched battles between Russian and English supporters before Saturday's match between the countries.
Dozens of people were injured after the worst violence at an international tournament since the 1998 World Cup.
Russian fans also charged into an English section of the Stade Velodrome at the end of the 1-1 draw and sparked fighting.
With more high-risk matches to come, the UEFA executive committee made a public "warning" in a statement which expressed "disgust" for the clashes.
A UEFA inquiry into the Marseille trouble will recommend punishment on Tuesday.
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."
World body FIFA also condemned what it called the "shameful scenes" between "idiotic troublemakers".
Russia was charged with crowd disturbances, racist behaviour and letting off fireworks for its fans' part in the stadium trouble. But UEFA also said mistakes were made segregating the rival supporters.
Authorities are now on red alert for Russia's next game in Lille, northern France, on Wednesday against Slovakia.
England's next Group B game against Wales in nearby Lens on Thursday has already been classed as a high-risk game by the French authorities.
