England, Russia could be thrown out of Euro 2016 if trouble continues
England and Russia face being thrown out of Euro 2016 if scenes of serious fan disorder continue, UEFA's executive committee has warned.
Ugly scenes both before and during Saturday night's Group B game in Marseille left a number of supporters injured, with one England fan in a critical condition in hospital.
UEFA was swift to open disciplinary proceedings against the Football Union of Russia for alleged crowd disturbances, racist behaviour and the setting off of fireworks towards the end of the game.
But now their executive committee has gone one step further in a strongly worded statement which indicates the governing body will not hesitate to impose the ultimate sanction.
The statement read: "The UEFA Executive Committee would like to express its disgust for the violent clashes which occurred in the city of Marseille.
"Such unacceptable behaviour by so-called supporters of the national teams of England and Russia has no place in football, a sport we must protect and defend.
"The UEFA Executive Committee has warned both football associations that - irrespective of any decisions taken by the independent disciplinary bodies relating to incidents inside the stadium - it will not hesitate to impose additional sanctions on the Football Association (FA) and the Russian Football Union (RFU), including the potential disqualification of their respective teams from the tournament, should such violence occur again.
"We urge both the FA and the RFU to appeal to their supporters to behave in a responsible and respectful manner.
"We would also like to publicly voice our support for the work of the French Authorities and security forces for their efforts to deliver a safe and secure tournament in challenging circumstances."
