Riot police disperse England fans in Lille

By Alastair Macdonald and Philip O'Connor
LILLE, France, 06 15 (Reuters) - French riot police charged plus used tear gas in order to disperse rowdy English soccer fans in Lille upon Wednesday, though the north city was spared feared clashes with Russian supporters.

During the day, police said, thirty six people were arrested for different offences as Russia dropped to Slovakia in Lille and England prepared to play Wales in the particular same Euro 2016 group in nearby Lens on Thursday.

There had been fears of violence in the north between Russian and English fans after they experienced clashed when their groups met in the southern city of Marseille on Saturday.
In the event, few Russians were in evidence on the particular streets of Lille after their team's 2-1 defeat in an afternoon fitting and the main difficulty in the evening had been caused by English fans chanting outside bars in groups of up in order to 200, watched by law enforcement.

At night, helpful site as the historic centre of Lille stuffed with local people streaming home from a testing from the French team's triumph over Albania, confrontations in between small groups of supporters prompted riot forces in order to intervene, chasing fans along streets, using pepper spray, dog handlers and traditional acoustic grenades.

There was little physical violence and the regulators said only 16 individuals involved in some way in the European football tournament were treated within Lille hospitals throughout Wednesday.
A game of cat-and-mouse, as England supporters moved on to gather elsewhere plus sing defiantly at police, eventually broke up in the small hours as fans drifted off within anticipation of the sport against Wales in Zoom lens at 3 p. meters. (1300 GMT) on Thursday night.

Violence in the Mediterranean sea port of Marseille prior to and after England's 1-1 draw with Russia, which includes a charge in the stadium by Russian fans after the final whistle, offers seen the hosts associated with the 2018 World Glass warned by organisers EUROP�ISCHER FU�BALLVERBAND that the country's group will be disqualified if there is a repeat of this kind of disorder.

Reuters journalists saw at least three Russians detained by police within Lille before the match, apparently after having been identified as suspects within the Marseille trouble.
During the particular game against Slovakia, the flare went off within the stands among Russian supporters after Russia scored late onto give the team's fans hope of salvaging a draw. Yet UEFA officials indicated that will the incident would not really trigger disqualification.

UEFA furthermore warned England that the repetition of fans' violent behaviour could see the team expelled. There is simply no immediate reaction from EUROP�ISCHER FU�BALLVERBAND, European soccer's governing body, to the events within Lille, where police stated they had "saturated" the particular city with nearly 4, 000 officers and restricted alcohol sales.

England followers complained that the police got been heavy handed. "Shame, " some shouted from the heavily armoured causes.

However, the authorities had clearly decided to hold back from making mass arrests among noisy plus disruptive groups. (Additional confirming by Pierre Savary and John Irish; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Bill Rigby)