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Russian Soccer Team Faces Punishment Over Fan Violence

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

There's a huge international soccer tournament going on in France right now, and there have been some ugly moments - a couple of big fights between English and Russian fans. Russia's soccer team has actually been fined and could even be thrown out of the Euro 2016 because of its fans. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Moscow.

COREY FLINTOFF, BYLINE: Violent fans began clashing in the streets before Saturday's match between Russia and England in Marseille, but the move that drew down punishment from European soccer officials came in the stadium after the match ended in a tie.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Booing).

FLINTOFF: Russian fans, some with their faces covered, shot fireworks or flares, then charged through a thin line of security guards and attacked the English side of the stands. A French official blamed what he said were about 150 well-trained Russian fans who'd come prepared for violence. But some Russians quickly denied that. This is Vladimir Markin, the press secretary for the Russian equivalent of the FBI.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VLADIMIR MARKIN: (Speaking Russian).

FLINTOFF: "If they'd been prepared," Markin said, "the Russian fans would've been able to resist provocations. These are just ordinary guys who gave into their emotions." Some Russian fans say they were provoked because English supporters were singing rude songs about Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and President Putin. A member of the executive committee of Russia's football union even had words of support for the Russian fans.

Igor Lebedev, who's also a deputy speaker of parliament, said he didn't see anything wrong with fans fighting. On the contrary, he wrote on social media, our guys were great; keep it up. Russia's been fined $168,000, and if there's any more violence inside the stadiums, the team will be on the next flight home to Moscow. Corey Flintoff, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Corey Flintoff is a correspondent with the Foreign Desk. His career has taken him to more than 45 countries.Since 2005, Flintoff has been part of the NPR team covering the Iraq War. He has embedded with U.S. military units fighting insurgents and hunting roadside bombs. His stories from Iraq have dealt with sectarian killings, government corruption, the Christian refugee crisis, and the destruction of Iraq's southern marshes.