Euro 2016: Major security operation swings into action to prevent repetition of Marseille violence in England's second match

Review: Six British nationals were left in hospital by disorder in Marseille
Jeremy Selwyn

Security chiefs are mobilising thousands of personnel in the small town of Lens to try to prevent a repeat of the violence that blighted England’s opening Euro 2016 match in Marseille.

A major operation is swinging into action and Uefa has threatened to throw England and Russia out of the tournament if there is any more trouble.

Alcohol is now to be banned near Euro 2016 venues while the UK government has offered to send more officers to support their European counterparts.

The violence between English fans and a Russian hooligans left six British nationals in hospital, with one, a 51-year-old man, fighting for his life.

Violence in Marseille

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There are fears of more clashes ahead of England’s game with Wales on Thursday in Lens, a small former coal mining town near Calais.

England fans were advised before the tournament started to stay in the larger city of Lille 20 miles away because of the lack of accommodation and bars and pubs in Lens.

But police there say there is a “high risk” of further violence because Russian supporters will be in Lille for their team’s match with Slovakia the day before.

Antoine Boutonnet, the police commander who is in charge of security for Euro 2016, said the England-Wales match was “particularly sensitive” because of the large number of fans from the UK likely to travel to France, many without tickets.

Police sources in Marseille told the Standard they were monitoring the movements of potential troublemakers who may be heading to the north of the country.

The source said: “We are coordinating with the relevant cities where these fans might be headed. We are also in close contact with the train networks. We’ve had the help of English police and are watching the special trains for the fans particularly closely.”

There will be 2,400 officers mobilised in Lens during England’s next match, the Standard understands.

This will be comprised of 1,200 police and gendarmes, 350 firefighters and medical personnel and ambulance crews, and 850 private security officers.

The town will also call on reinforcements from France’s riot police, the CRS, and make use of special rapid intervention forces, known as SIR – undercover police in sportswear stationed in the stands inside the stadium and others using video.

There will also be “spotters” from the UK, dog handlers with dogs that can sniff out explosives, and police on horses, motorcycles and mountain bikes.

There will also be a police cell set up underneath the Stade Bollaert-Delelis stadium, the Standard has learned.

A source said: “A police cell will be set up under the Trannin stand. These police officers will be expected to deal with legal procedures in the heart of the stadium. They will be in constant touch with the legal department of the central Commissariat.

“As well as the at the main police station of Lens, legal teams will be present at two other headquarters to deal rapidly and effectively with those arrested.”

As well as clamping down on potential trouble outside the stadium, Uefa officials will be desperate to prevent a repeat of the trouble inside the ground, when Russian fans shot flares at English supporters before attacking them on the terraces.

It has led to criticism of its lack of appropriate segregation measures and security checks as the balaclava-clad Russian thugs, known as “ultras” - wearing gum shields and mixed martial arts gloves and wielding telescopic truncheons - charged inside Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome.

Addressing the violence, 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.”

In response, the Football Association said: “We take this with utmost seriousness. We understand the potential implications of supporters’ actions.”

One victim, England fan Martyn Lowe, 28, a delivery driver from Stoke-on-Trent, told the Standard how he was set upon by masked Russian thugs in the Old Port on Saturday lunchtime hours before the match.

He was smashed on the head with a bottle before being kicked and punched unconscious.

The married father-of-two, who spent the night in hospital, said: “They were coming from everywhere. They were massive. They did not come to watch the football. They were very organised. I was trying to get out of the way and the next thing I know I have a bottle on my head.”

He added: “I think I broke two ribs…I just want to go home now.”

The thugs even stole his shoes, £100 in his wallet and his new iPhone.

The UK government said it condemned the violence and “urge calm on all sides”.

A spokesman said: “We are in constant contact with the Euro 2016 organisers and the French authorities…We have offered to send further UK police to France ahead of the next England game to support the security operation around the match in Lens. And UK police will be assisting the French with their post-incident investigations and supporting them to gather evidence, including evidence against any England fans involved in the disorder.

“The Home Secretary has spoken to her French counterpart, Bernard Cazeneuve, the Interior Minister, to continue to coordinate and work closely together on the response. And the Foreign Office has been in touch with the Russian authorities about our concerns.”

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