Russians stealing England flags..

[Rich_The_Conisbrough_Rover]

Spot the middle one and the badge, anyone here?

https://mobile.twitter.com/theawayfans/status/741628919690985472

[Samson Vidal]

What for though, the logic defies me.

[mushRTID]

plenty more trouble today, mostly sounds like the Russians have waded in.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Who says they're Russian?

[Sad-Rovers]

No, he's not on here but he is on the Facebook group. I've been I  touch and he's safe and well.

[Rich_The_Conisbrough_Rover]

What a horrible 3 days it's been, can't believe Russia got the World Cup, their fans are disgusting, provoking the English and the media are making a meal of it personally, if you get fireworks thrown at you and chairs thrown your going to retaliate back. 

[Lytham Rover]

What a horrible 3 days it's been, can't believe Russia got the World Cup, their fans are disgusting, provoking the English and the media are making a meal of it personally, if you get fireworks thrown at you and chairs thrown your going to retaliate back. 

Wrong
The thing to do is walk away and let the riot police do their job
Otherwise the headlines will all be anti English and their may be consequences for the national team

[PDX_Rover]

Russian 'ultras' and French locals clashing too. It's always the same though isn't it. England's fault.

[Bristol Red Rover]

I can understand most media taking the biased tack on blaming for the violence, but for the UK media to do it stinks.

I also wonder if the flags were borrowed or even bought off the English fans for prime prices for the kudos photo opportunity.

[Sammy Chung was King]

I think France, has gone through enough recently, with the terrorists problems, i don't think it's too much to ask, for all countries fans to behave.
I am obviously not seeing things myself, only on the news, i'm sure innocent people are being dragged into things. But also we have our own minority, who think a game without trouble, isn't a game.
No wonder we are seen as ignorant and not liked, throughout the world, because the other countries think we are all like that!.

[Nudga]

The BBC are doing their very best to report that everything is down to the English. I know of quite  few people over there and their view is completely different.
The establishment need to make England fans look far worse so it helps their case to keep us sat down in dull, sanitised conditions and keep the safe standing idea at bay.
It's about control. Make it look like that our fans are out of control so that strengthens their case to keep us under control.
A very small minority are getting involved yes, but there are between 30 and 40k England fans over there at the moment.
Don't believe everything you read.

[Filo]

The BBC are doing their very best to report that everything is down to the English. I know of quite  few people over there and their view is completely different.
The establishment need to make England fans look far worse so it helps their case to keep us sat down in dull, sanitised conditions and keep the safe standing idea at bay.
It's about control. Make it look like that our fans are out of control so that strengthens their case to keep us under control.
A very small minority are getting involved yes, but there are between 30 and 40k England fans over there at the moment.
Don't believe everything you read.

I was just going to post the same, it's not just the BBC, it's most of the UK media, it's clear from the pictures that this is well organised by the Russians, alot of them have their clubs name on the back of their black t shirts, I saw Locomotiv Moscow on alot of the shirts.

And Russia are hosting the next World Cup!

[The Red Baron]

Doesn't suit the media narrative. That always sees England fans as aggressors, not victims.

I'm sure some of our lot have behaved badly, but the violence inside the stadium was clearly not due to England fans.

[MrFrost]

I've read a lot of Russians there are ex military looking for a scrap. It's certainly a well organised and targeted approach they've took, and they don't give a shit.

The next round of games midweek have disaster written all over them.

[Filo]

Russia play Slovakia 25 miles away from where England play Wales thats a powder keg situation for sure

[ZiggerZagger]

Was speaking to my mate who's over there this morning. He said there's a hell of a lot of fans seriously thinking of coming home. He's never seen anything like it in the 20+ years he's followed England. In his own words, it was like a total set up, we were just singing n dancing outside this pub when they appeared from nowhere. The police covered every exit in n out, only one way in but they just appeared from a side street.They had knives metal post proper tooled up and just seem to be after the flags. Think they use them as trophies. But the worst was in the ground. French police are supposed to be on high alert yet how come a Russian took a flare gun into the ground and fired it into the England supporters.

[Copps is Magic]

The reports I am reading are of organised Russian gangs and Marseilles ultras looking for trouble with England fans and largely not finding it. You could tell from near enough every video posted that a certain group of England fans were at the same pub even two days in advance. The owners of that pub have come and said England fans didn't start the trouble.

What I find absolutely disgusting is the comments of Andy Burnham, a man who should know something about mis-representing the behaviour of fans, who decided to come out and condemn England fans before he even had any grasp of what was going on. The slimey cock bag. Absolute scum.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Yeah. How appalling of the BBC to question the propriety of FIFA, eh? Bunch of agenda-driven idiots...

I'll admit, I've had little dealing with England fans on the road for more than a decade. Last time I went to Wembley to see and England match was two decades back and I had the pleasure of being sat behind a woman with two kids who spent the whole match shouting racist abuse at opposition fans. During Euro 2002, I stupidly took a flight to Brussels for work and had an hour and a half on board with 40 England fans who were the biggest set of scum I have ever experienced. Fighting with each other over the ale cart. Abusing the flight crew. Using mobile phones on the plane to check with their mates already in Holland if they'd "managed to knife a f**king Turk yet?"

In Cologne in 2006, the fanzone was a joy to be present in. Friendly mixing of fans from all over the globe. Until England played in Stuttgart and the Heumarkt was full of thousands of bristling English fans with an insular, boorish attitude and an air of latent menace. There was no trouble, but equally, there was no bloody fun.

I'm sure it's all calmed down since then, but see, if you accept and export that sort of culture for decades, it's hardly surprising that the big lads from other countries will see you as a target,  no matter how much you might have changed.

[Copps is Magic]

It took Russian fans visibly rushing England fans into a potentially mass fatal stampede and crush against a fence for the BBC to finally stop reporting that England fans were creating the trouble.

It's shocking really how the truth can stop being reported based on past prejudices.

[Nudga]

BST, I've got no doubts at all that there will be English dick heads out there but there are now loads of stories and video evidence where "normal" fans are being targeted and cornered, some watching the football inside bars or others having lunch outside and then the Police roll up a few minutes later firing tear gas at the English.
I find if strange how the Ultras and Russian gangs seem to find a "side street" that the police have seemingly forgotten about and a free for all ensues.
I can't help but think that this is a plot to get English clubs banned from European competition again.
Something doesn't smell right to me and I can't place it.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Rigo

As someone involved in journalism, I'd have thought you wouldn't need telling that one person expressing a view that chimes with another person does not mean that either persons' views are necessarily correct.

[silent majority]

This is not 'normal hooligans', this is something much more sinister. In all my years of following England away I haven't seen anything quite like this, the Russians are tooled up, knives, chair legs and anything else they can get their hands on. They're wearing balaclavas and black shirts as a kind of para military style uniform and are attacking indiscriminately. Women, children, people of any age and of any nationality seem to be fair game whilst the French Police watch from a distance before responding with tear gas to break things up. What happens then of course is people escape down side roads and alleys to be picked off by the waiting Ultras.

Sorry France but you have no idea how to organise a tournament. Putting England and Russia in the same group was bad luck, having them in Marseilles was bad planning. And on Thursday we meet Wales in Lens, a town too small to accept the 60,000 English who are out here so the advice from the French is to stay in Lille. And who plays in Lille on Wednesday? The Russians and Slovakia. Oh dear.

Oh, and to cap it all last night how did the French react after the game? Simple, close down the metro, shut the bars by the port, no taxis or buses on the streets and scared vulnerable people left to try and make their way back to their accommodation. Well done.

[the vicar]

It was not the England  section the Russian lads rushed, it was a family stand full of English Russian and french family's.  The Russian mob train themselves in para military and cage fighting it was on a documentary a couple of years ago hostes by Ross  kemp,

[the vicar]

It won't stop till they throw out the offending country and there fans

[The Red Baron]

Another eye-witness.

https://threeofclubsblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/12/first-blog-post/

[MrFrost]

This is not 'normal hooligans', this is something much more sinister. In all my years of following England away I haven't seen anything quite like this, the Russians are tooled up, knives, chair legs and anything else they can get their hands on. They're wearing balaclavas and black shirts as a kind of para military style uniform and are attacking indiscriminately. Women, children, people of any age and of any nationality seem to be fair game whilst the French Police watch from a distance before responding with tear gas to break things up. What happens then of course is people escape down side roads and alleys to be picked off by the waiting Ultras.

Sorry France but you have no idea how to organise a tournament. Putting England and Russia in the same group was bad luck, having them in Marseilles was bad planning. And on Thursday we meet Wales in Lens, a town too small to accept the 60,000 English who are out here so the advice from the French is to stay in Lille. And who plays in Lille on Wednesday? The Russians and Slovakia. Oh dear.

Oh, and to cap it all last night how did the French react after the game? Simple, close down the metro, shut the bars by the port, no taxis or buses on the streets and scared vulnerable people left to try and make their way back to their accommodation. Well done.

Most of them are believed to be ex military and it was organised a long time ago

[BobG]

Given the widespread use of military trained 'civilian' agent provocateurs in the Ukraine and elsewhere, I do just wonder what, if any, political gain might arise, and for whom, from this behaviour?

It's probably complete rubbish, but the affairs of the world these days do make me wonder a bit.

BobG

PS Just seen yours Mr Frost. Have you got any links for that? Please?!

[mushRTID]

Just read that if Russia win the group they could potentially play Ukraine. Very long shot but it's possible.

[Copps is Magic]

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if these Russian are in some way in collusion with the Russian government. The French police chief has already said they aren't known or regular hooligans.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Well, it'd serve Putin's interests if this whipped up anti-European feeling in England ahead of the referendum...