Euro 2016: England supporter fighting for his life after violence in Marseille

An England football supporter was fighting for his life on Sunday after clashes with Russian fans in the French city of Marseille, as football’s plague of violence hit the Euro 2016 tournament. After the worst scenes at an international tournament since the 1998 World Cup, fears of new violence ran high hours ahead of the Turkey-Croatia game in Paris, which organisers have also classed as high-risk. [caption id=“attachment_2830432” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Russia and English fans clash in Stade Velodrome. Reuters[/caption] In Marseille, English and Russian supporters fought pitched battles ahead of their countries’ opener on Saturday. An Englishman who had apparently been beaten around the head with an iron bar was left in a critical state in hospital and more than 30 other people were injured. Fans who had been drinking heavily for hours pelted each other with bottles and cafe chairs in Marseille’s Vieux-Port district as 1,200 police tried to control the crowd with teargas. Ten people, including English, Russian, French, German and Austrians nationals were arrested, police sources said. The violence also spilled over into the match in the Stade Velodrome. As the England and Russia players left the field at the end of the 1-1 draw, Russian fans charged into the England supporters’ section and scuffles briefly broke out. Later Saturday, the Euro 2016 violence spread along the Mediterranean coast to Nice, where Northern Ireland fans were drawn into fights with local youths, witnesses said. Seven people were injured there including one man who suffered a serious head injury, police said. The scenes in Marseille were reminiscent of incidents in the same city during the 1998 World Cup, when English and Tunisian were involved in a mass brawl. England fans said the clashes were caused by Russians, who charged at them. “There were about 100 Russians. They just came out of nowhere, something was thrown and that started it all off,” said one England supporter, who asked not to be named.