Unfortunately, the football at Euro 2016 has been overshadowed by the acts of violence among some supporters at the tournament.
The stories that have been dominating the headlines have been fans and locals clashing, most notably some England and Russia supporters.
It all came to a head on Saturday evening when Russian fans broke through to a segregated area to charge at England supporters in the Stade Velodrome following the 1-1 draw.
Our man @ConanDoherty was in Marseille on Satutday. Here's his account of a bizarre and terrifying night https://t.co/aVwYTLSsk2
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 13, 2016
Uefa had opened disciplinary hearings against Russia following the stadium violence and the governing body has warned both football associations that any further violence could result in their team’s disqualification from the tournament.
However, Igor Lebedev, an MP and member of the Russian Football Union executive committee, has voiced his support of the hooligan violence.
“I don’t see anything wrong with the fans fighting. Quite the opposite: well done our lads, keep it up!”
https://twitter.com/shaunwalker7/status/742295388011565056?lang=da&lang=da
According to a report by the Financial Times, Lebedev, whose father is the ultra-nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, followed up with more comments on a television broadcast.
“I don’t think our fans did anything over the top, and you need to understand that, nine times out of 10, football supporters come to a game to fight, and that’s normal.”
