Organisers of Euro 2016 expected trouble. But not like this

By R.J.E.

FOOTBALL tournaments are often remembered for the shocks they produce on the pitch. The 2016 UEFA European Championship, the continent’s quadrennial tournament for national teams which began in France on June 10th, risks being defined by shocks off it. The hosts had plenty to worry about in the build-up: floods, terrorism, strikes and even a racism row over team selection. French nerves were soothed when a sublime late goal from Dimitri Payet earned Les Bleus a 2-1 win over Romania in the opening game. But world-class performances from the likes of Germany’s Toni Kroos and Spain’s Andrés Iniesta have been overshadowed by other troubles. On June 13th, a jihadist who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State murdered two people in a home west of Paris. The following day, violent protests against labour reforms left 40 injured. Strikes continue to hamper French flights and trains, and even led to the closure of the Eiffel Tower on June 14th.

Yet one source of strife has caught organisers unaware. In Marseille, fans from England and Russia clashed before a game between the two national teams on June 11th. Hooligans used chairs from nearby cafés and glass bottles as weapons. Russia’s so-called “ultras” were extremely organised: they wore mouth-guards for protection, and England shirts for the element of surprise. One Englishman had his head repeatedly stomped on as he lay in the street; another was attacked with an axe. English fans were also to blame: five were jailed for their part in the violence. At one point, as French police encircled, they sang: “Fuck off Europe, we’re all voting out.”

Most England fans are wise enough to brace themselves for the pain and anguish that major tournament appearances tend to evoke. Few were surprised when their team failed to win a game that they had dominated, conceding a last-minute equaliser to Russia. But nobody expected the attack by around 150 Russian hooligans at the final whistle, who stormed an England section of the stadium. Hundreds of English fans ran for their lives, many clambering over barriers in desperation. By the end of the day, 35 people had been injured, four seriously.

The authorities, who had failed to prevent the violence, acted swiftly in response. On June 13th UEFA, the European football body, gave Russia a €150,000 ($170,000) fine and a suspended disqualification for the in-stadium violence, stating that a repeat of such events would see the team kicked out of the tournament; England too was threatened with expulsion for its part in the street fighting. The host nation has deported dozens of Russian hooligans, and introduced alcohol restrictions around the stadiums.

But these measures have not quelled the brawling. The next round of games saw English fans decamp to Lens, while the Russians headed to Lille. The two cities are just half an hour apart. Even with an additional 4,000 French police deployed, further alcohol-fuelled skirmishes ensued. The ban on booze, which did not apply to its sale in bars, was flouted by many local stores. On June 15th, as local French fans tried to celebrate another late win, this time over Albania, English fans hurled bottles at riot police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Some 36 people were arrested, and 16 taken to hospital.

The Football Association, the English administrative body, condemned the violence and acknowledged English fans' part in it. The Football Supporters’ Federation, which represents fans from England and Wales, has been less contrite, saying that English fans acted in self-defence and that the French police were too aggressive. Russia’s response to its suspended disqualification, meanwhile, has been one of indignation. Although the country’s sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, conceded the ultras had “shamed” the country, others were incensed. “I don’t see anything wrong,” tweeted a top Russian football official, adding: “On the contrary, well done our boys. Keep it up!” A Russian security agency spokesman suggested French police had gone soft from patrolling too many gay-pride parades. One Russian player suggested the British press was outraged because it could not bear to see Russia, not England, host the 2018 World Cup. Leonid Slutsky, Russia’s coach, said some fans had behaved poorly, before adding that it was “a flagrant violation of all ethical norms” for some English fans to whistle during Russia’s national anthem before kick-off.

The mayhem could scarcely have come at a worse time for France’s police force. Its resources were already being stretched in all directions, from counter-terrorism operations to policing local demonstrations. The burden of hooliganism could grow larger still if Russia were to draw Poland, Ukraine or, especially, Turkey in the knockout round (Russo-Turkish relations have deteriorated spectacularly since Turkey shot down a Russian jet on the Syrian border last year). The Russians will probably need to win their final group game, against Wales, to progress.

None of this is likely to affect Russia’s hosting of the 2018 World Cup. The competition is organised not by UEFA but FIFA, the global governing body, which has shown little inclination to move the tournament. But if Russia is ejected from Euro 2016 due to the behaviour of its fans, the country will not forget the slight. A decision, due later this week, on whether to ban Russia’s athletics team from this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro for state-sponsored doping could deepen Russian grievances. Then there is the horrifying thought of similar violence playing out on Russian soil. Vladimir Putin’s riot police, known as OMON, is heavy-handed with its own peaceful protesters. Foreign football hooligans chanting anti-Russian slogans on the streets of Moscow will not be treated gently.

Many had predicted this tournament would be the last “great” European Championship. From 2020 the matches will be staged in a dozen cities across the continent. Gone would be the sight of fans from different cultures getting together in the carnival atmosphere of a single host country, critics argued. French fans insist that the chance of a triumph on home soil is worth all the sorrow and stress of hosting. Yet looking at the strain that the host nation has been placed under, a fractured tournament seems appropriate for an increasingly fractured Europe.