Three Russian football fans have been jailed in France following fan violence at the European Championships, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.
Alexei Erunov, Sergei Gorbachev, and Nikolai Morozov were sentenced to two years, 18 months and 12 months respectively following clashes with England supporters in the streets of Marseille on June 11.
All three were banned from entering France for two years after being charged with violent use of improvised weapons and participation in a group formed for violent purposes, French newspaper Le Monde reported Thursday,
Russian police provided French authorities with information on the men’s whereabouts in order to aid in their arrest, Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said at a press conference.
Gorbachev is the head of the fan club for the Tula Arsenal football team, Erunov is the director of fan relations at Moscow football club FC Locomotiv, and Morozov is on the central committee for the fan club at Moscow football club Dynamo, the Mediazona news website reported Thursday.
French authorities have so far moved to deport 20 Russian football fans who were arrested with the three fans in question, including Russian Fans' Union leader Alexander Shprygin, the union's press service said in a statement Wednesday.
Shprygin and the other supporters will be deported within five days. The decision was made by the French authorities for security reasons, as they see the Russian supporters as a potential threat, the statement said.
Six England supporters, a Frenchman and an Austrian were also jailed on June 13 in relation to the violence, Britain's Sky News reported.
The independent UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body handed the Russian Football Union a fine of 50,000 euros ($168,000) and placed the Russian team under suspended disqualification — accusing Russian fans with crowd disturbances, racist behavior and setting off fireworks within the Stade Velodrome.
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