It goes without saying that what unfolded on the streets of Marseille over the weekend didn’t make great viewing for football fans.
England fans, groups of aggressive local youths, Russian hooligans – for those of us stuck over here for the Euros, it was a couple of days before we could establish what the hell had actually taken place.
In Lille on Wednesday afternoon, trouble appeared to be brewing once again. Stan Collymore, covering the tournament in a journalistic capacity, was also in the city and documented what was going on via a live broadcast on Periscope.
LIVE on #Periscope: Trouble https://t.co/jX1R0Zd6qx
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) June 15, 2016
Cries of “Fuck off Russia, we’re England and Wales,” can be heard in the broadcast before riot police are seen approaching the supporters at around the eight minute mark of the recording.
With the police separating the supporters from their Russian counterparts, Collymore then reports that the Russian supporters are throwing bottles in the direction of the England supporters. At the nine minute point, one policeman grounds one of the Russian supporters, seemingly after Collymore pointed police in his direction.
Stan Collymore getting a Russian arrested in Lille today #ENG #RUS https://t.co/GL9WCnWAlZ
— Footy Away Days (@FootyAwayDays_) June 15, 2016
And according to Collymore, the trouble wasn’t done there. The former Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa striker later tweeted that Russian ultras had thrown a firework in the direction of England supporters, prompting a stampede.
100% a pocket of #RUS ultras chucked a firework towards #ENG fans which started the stampede. Can't see where this night ends.
— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) June 15, 2016
Although it seems the trouble isn’t on the same scale as last weekend, let’s hope this doesn’t escalate any further.
