Dzyuba: England fans are far from angels

THERE was not a great deal of contrition on display from the Russian camp as they prepared for their second game of Euro 2016 under the looming threat of disqualification. It was a message of defiance mixed with veiled allegations of hypocrisy from manager Leonid Slutsky and striker Artem Dzyuba ahead of today’s Group B fixture with Slovakia. They were speaking after learning of UEFA’s decision to punish Russia with a fine of £120,000 and a suspended disqualification, triggered if fans cause trouble inside any official venue during the tournament. French police escorted one bus of Russian supporters to the border as part of their investigation into the violence in Marseille. Despite heavy security in Lille, trouble kicked off yesterday in the early evening. A group of black-clad men, believed to be Russian, attacked English and Welsh fans outside a bar near Lille Flandres station. Chairs were thrown between the groups but riot police moved in quickly. Slutsky and Dzyuba agreed Russia’s street-fighting gangs of ultras must stop beating people up and firing flares in stadiums. Yet they were clearly unhappy to be cast as the villains. There were also claims of an anti-Russian media agenda, motivated, they said, by those who want them stripped of the World Cup in 2018. Dzyuba said: ‘I don’t understand the reaction of the British media, who have the impression that English supporters are like angels who came to this country and are just behaving themselves. ‘You have to be objective, it’s 5050. There are two sides in every conflict. We saw some videos and there was some aggression but we just see some fragments. ‘We don’t want any politics in football, please. We are talking about things which are not really football. We are not at a streetfighting championship over here. We are talking about the European football championship.’ Slutsky added: ‘I agree with my player. We are sure we are not going to be kicked out. There is not going to be any injustice. ‘We are sure our supporters will not do it again and give no reasons to disqualify our team. ‘We do not know what happened

on the streets, but when the Russian anthem was played, all the England supporters were shouting and making noise and this is not ethical. There were gestures and shouting we received on the bus on the way to the stadium from England supporters.’ Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko said they would not appeal their punishment but again, his words were laced with tones of injustice. He asked: ‘What does this have to do with the team, it is not guilty of anything?’ When Zenit striker Dzyuba was asked if he thought there was a politically motivated agenda, he said: ‘It’s possible, it’s probable. We can see the British media are talking about the World Cup 2018 and saying it has to be taken away from Russia.’ FIFA released a statement in a bid to ease fears of hooliganism at the Confederations Cup, held next year in Russia, and the World Cup in 2018, promising ‘comprehensive security . . . in order to avoid any repetition’. FA chief executive Martin Glenn last night warned England Travel Club members that UK police ‘spotters’ would be watching them. ‘Anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated and we will work with relevant authorities to identify those supporters involved and issue sanctions where appropriate to our members,’ he said. ‘UK police also will monitor any such behaviour and those committing offences could face arrest or additional sanctions such as football banning orders when they return home.’ Glenn added: ‘Like the England team, you represent the badge and I urge you to act in a positive and respectful way.’