Russian President Vladimir Putin has questioned official reports on fan clashes at the European football championships, saying that he “didn't understand how 200 Russian football fans could beat up thousands of English supporters.”
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Forum, Putin described the mass fights between Russian and English fans in Marseille last week as a “complete outrage,” the Interfax news agency reported Friday.
The president also said that “the approach of law enforcement bodies should be the same for all the offenders.”
Mass violence involving Russian and English supporters unfolded in Marseille last week both before and after a match in Marseille. At least 35 people were injured, including 4 in serious condition as a result of the violence.
Twenty Russian supporters will be deported from the country following the attacks, while a further three have been jailed.
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