UEFA threatens to ban England, Russia from Euro 2016

UEFA have threatened to ban England and Russia from Euro 2016 if there is further violence following ugly scenes in the Stade Vélodrome last night.

 It comes as thousands of English and Russian supporters travel to Lille, in northern France, for their second games of the tournament.

Last night several hundred English and Russian fans squared off in Marseille, hurling beer bottles and chairs and drawing volleys of tear gas from riot police who struggled to contain the fighting in the narrow streets of the Old Port district.

Inside Marseille's Stade Vélodrome the Balaclava-clad Russian thugs - wearing gum shields and mixed martial arts gloves and wielding telescopic truncheons - then charged at their English counterparts at the final whistle - as well as firing a flare gun into the England fans.

England fans hurled themselves over railings and concerned parents were seen carrying their children away from the fighting, with stewards - rather than police - left to intervene between scuffles.

Russian fans then paraded the English flags they had stolen as trophies in a square in Marseille.

In a statement UEFA said: '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 UEFA Executive Committee has warned both football associations that – irrespective of any decisions taken by the independent disciplinary bodies relating to incidents inside the stadium – it will not hesitate to impose additional sanctions on the Football Association (FA) and the Russian Football Union (RFS), including the potential disqualification of their respective teams from the tournament, should such violence occur again.

'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.'