Russian Fans Jailed For up to Two Years For Euro 2016 Violence
Three Russian football supporters were jailed by a French Court for their role in violence before the England-Russia Euro 2016 match
Highlights
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Three Russian football fans were jailed by a French Court
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This comes after their involvement in fan violence
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Russia have been warned of disqualification from Euro 2016
A French court on Thursday jailed three Russian football supporters for up to two years for their role in violence before the England-Russia Euro 2016 match here.
Alexei Yerunov, Nikolai Morozov and Sergei Gorbachev were among 43 Russian supporters detained by French police in southern France on Tuesday after the pitched battles which left more than 30 people injured.
Yerunov, 29, who is supporters' liaison officer at Lokomotiv Moscow according to the club's website, received the longest prison sentence of 24 months.
He admitted he was at the scene of an attack on an English supporter who was left in a critical state after being beaten around the head with an iron bar. He denied being responsible.
"I apologise. I recognise that I was there but I didn't hit anyone. My hands are clean," he told the court.
Gorbachev, who leads a supporters' club at Russian second division club Arsenal Tula, was jailed for 18 months.
Morozov, 28, received the shortest sentence of 12 months. Prosecutor Andre Ribe described the Russians' behaviour in the chaotic scenes in Marseille on Saturday: "It was a hunt. They ran off together, staying in a group and keeping enough energy for what they call 'the fight'."