A Russian fan who took part in widespread pre-match violence has declared “the English are girls” and hundreds of hooligans attend Euro 2016 to fight.

This comes as French prosecutors announce some 150 Russians were behind the violence ahead of the 1-1 draw with England in Marseille.


Comment: That was all? There were up to 150 THOUSAND English fans!

Only a small percentage of those, of course, were hooligans, but they nevertheless vastly outnumbered their Russian counterparts.

There can be no doubt though that a majority of English fans were involved in provoking the Russian ultras once inside the stadium. Listen to them try to drown out the Russian national anthem:

Russia are just 29th in world football rankings but are fighting for top spot in the hooligan stakes thanks to the efforts of characters like Vladimir, a Moscow public relations manager who considers violence a sport.

Vladimir, who is married with two children, has returned from the battleground at the European Championship finals in France, and does not care that Uefa have threatened to disqualify Russia.

Uefa, which voiced “utter disgust” at the disturbances, has opened an investigation into the Russian fans’ behaviour and could announce sanctions on Tuesday.

Vladimir told AFP he spent less than 48 hours in Marseille but “saw all the main events and took part to some extent”.

He estimated about 150 of Russia’s “strongest” hooligans flew to Marseille for the day for the England-Russia match.

The Lokomotiv Moscow follower said 500-600 of the team’s fans take part in hooliganism at “important events like the Euro”, amid concerns about this trend when Russia hosts the World Cup in 2018.

Up to 15,000 Russians were said to be in France for Euro 2016 and Vladimir said they were united against England.

“It doesn’t matter which city fans come from or which team they support. It’s important that we’re all from Russia. We are going to fight the English.”

Although the Russian gangs have English names such as “ultras”, “mob” or “crew”, they consider themselves bitter rivals of the English.

“The English always say they are the main football hooligans. We went to show that the English are girls,” Vladimir said.

Tensions between supporters came to a head inside the Stade Velodrome when Russian hooligans rushed the England supporters’ section, sending people fleeing.

Before the match, hundreds of English and Russian fans fought in the Vieux-Port area of Marseille.

Thirty-five people were injured in the worst violence at an international tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France, with three still in a serious condition.


Comment: …yes, 1998, when English fans ran riot, abusing Tunisian supporters and vandalizing Marseilles.

Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg also have hooligan groups with hundreds of members each. Their grounds have been notorious for racist chants.


Comment: The English press, as always, is hopelessly oblivious to the fact that its subjects just spent the last 4 days singing about ‘beating bloody Germans’, ‘hating the French’ and the ‘f%cking IRA’.

Many hooligans have little interest in the games and will not care if UEFA disqualifies their team, he added.

“I think it’s a decision that won’t influence in any way what hooligans do next,” he said. “Nothing will stop these people.”

He contrasted Russian hooligans with England fans, who he described as “big older men who drink a lot of beer”.

“Fans or hooligans from Russia are mainly younger, aged 20-30 and at home most of them are into sports. They do sports like boxing or all kinds of martial arts,” he said.

“The aim is to come and prove that English fans aren’t hooligans, they don’t know how to fight. A lot of Russian guys come specially with this aim.”

Russian hooligans will try to provoke fights with a group of England fans at a bar by trying to grab their team banner, he said.

He stressed that while “the English use chairs and bottles (to fight), the Russian style is only fists“.

Using weapons “causes a lot of unnecessary injuries,” he said. “For us it’s like sport.”

“We don’t have a desire to kill or injure. There is a desire to show our strength.”

The head of Britain’s Euro 2016 policing operation said Russian fans prepared for battle by bringing gum shields, martial arts gloves and knives.


Comment: No footage, as yet, of knives or any other weapons.

Pictures showed dozens of youths rushing down Marseille streets with cafe chairs over their heads, ready to throw them, as the situation descended into chaos.


Comment: The specific incident referred to here actually shows the Russians in ‘tortoise formation’, using chairs as shields so they can protect themselves from the rain of glass thrown at them by the English, who vastly outnumber them, and then, once the Russians get close enough, they run at the English who then flee into the main port area of Marseille… where they’re met by a hail of tear gas cannisters fired by French police.

    

Images of Russian fans also emerged on social media showing Russians with stolen flags, some appeared to be splattered with blood.

Vladimir also said he thought that French police were passive during the outbreaks of violence.

“I got the sense it was interesting for them to see the Russians fight the English. They intervened at the last moment.”


Comment: We have no idea how true this is, but it’s an interesting observation!

Franco-Russian collusion against Albion? Ooh, the intrigue!

He added that Russian hooligans do their best to blend into the crowd, and never wear the team shirt or carry the national flag.

“If you see a guy wearing a Russian flag or a Russian T-shirt, he’ll never be a hooligan,” Vladimir said.

“A hooligan must dress to fit in with the crowd. I wore a shirt, trousers and leather shoes.”

He said he would only go back to France if Russia play in the final, and predicted that the other matches will be “a lot calmer“.