France has deported a group of 29 Russian supporters who were involved in the shocking attacks on England fans at Euro 2016 – and intercepted another 50 heading to Lille, the reports.
French police have launched an anti-hooligan operation in Mandelieu, near Cannes, after verifying 29 Russian supporters suspected of being involved in the fighting in Marseille.
‘These verifications have been carried out on the basis of intelligence… leading us to think they were present in Marseille,’ said Xavier Lauch, cabinet director of the prefect of the Alpes Maritimes department.
In a separate incident, Alexander Shprygin, the head of a Russian supporters’ group, said French riot police had stopped a bus in Cannes carrying Russian fans on their way to Lille.
He said: ‘They want to deport almost 50 people including women who did not take part in anything.
‘The police are making up for their mistakes three days ago. We are in a bus in Cannes and we have been blocked in by riot police with machine guns and it was pushed towards some closed area. We are not going anywhere for the time being and are waiting for the consul.’
Later on, he said: ‘Police are now dragging us out of the bus, they’ve announced deportation. No reasons are being given. There are 50 people in the bus.