French police used water cannon and tear gas on football fans amid ugly incidents in Marseille ahead of the Euro 2016 match yesterday between Ukraine and Poland. Several people were seen being detained. The troubles heightened tensions among supporters massed at a roundabout near the Marseille stadium, causing shoving and many to run in panic. Four people were arrested earlier yesterday in the Vieux-Port area that was the scene of violent clashes between Russia and England supporters on June 11. Thirty-five mainly British fans were injured then, two seriously. Thousands of Poland supporters gathered in the district before heading towards the Velodrome stadium, behind a huge banner reading “Defenders of European Culture”.

Russians in Euro violence were ‘trained killers’: Ukraine president
The Russian football fans behind the Marseille fan violence were “trained fighters who kill”, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said during a visit to France yesterday.
“I cannot rule out that they were prepared. They were trained fighters who kill,” Poroshenko told French television ahead of a meeting with his French counterpart Francois Hollande.
Two Britons remain in a coma in hospital after being seriously injured in the Marseille mayhem ahead of the June 11 Euro match. Andrew Bache, 51, and Stewart Gray, 47, are in a “stable condition” but still fighting for their lives, the officials said. They were among 35 mostly British fans hurt in the three days of violence. Three Russian fans were jailed for up to two years for their role in the chaos, while six England fans were jailed for up to six months. French prosecutors said the Russian fans in Marseille had targeted England supporters in an orchestrated “hunt”. Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said investigators were still hunting the attackers in the two cases “which are considered attempted murder.” Robin has said much of the violence was provoked by Russian fans.
 Twenty Russians were expelled from France, including far-right fan leader Alexander Shprygin – who was expected to be expelled for a second time yesterday after he sneaked back into the country to watch his country play, police said. “Measures have been taken and they are being finalised,” a police source said.
It is believed Shprygin returned to France by flying to Barcelona and taking a car to Toulouse in southwest France, but he was arrested during Russia’s defeat to Wales on Monday. He had been expelled from France with 19 other Russians on Saturday for suspected links to the violence before the England-Russia match in Marseille. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the violence as a “disgrace”, but also said he could not understand “how 200 of our fans could beat up several thousand English”.
Russia is under EU economic sanctions for failing to make progress on resolving the conflict pitting pro-Moscow rebels against Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia signed up to a ceasefire accord signed in February 2015 but it has yet to be fully implemented.

Ukraine coach Fomenko to quit after Euro exit
Ukraine coach Mykhaylo Fomenko yesterday announced he was quitting after a hugely disappointing performance saw his team suffer the ignominious fate of being the first knocked out of Euro 2016. Fomenko said he will leave his job after Ukraine play Poland in Marseille later yesterday in their final game at the tournament. “The match against Poland will be the last for me in this post,” Fomenko told Ukraine’s private Football TV channel.
Ukraine put up a brave performance against world champions Germany, losing 2-0, before going down by the same score to Northern Ireland, in a first win for the minnows at a European Championship. The 67-year-old coach, who took over the national team in December 2012, blamed Ukraine’s failure on a lack of unity among the players, who include Sevilla’s left-winger Yevhen Konoplyanka.
Dynamo Kiev forward Andriy Yarmolenko and Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Taras Stepanenko were involved in an ugly scuffle on the pitch during a league game held just weeks before the Euro kicked off on June 10 in Paris.
Ukrainian media have speculated that Fomenko may be replaced by legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko, who starred at Dynamo Kiev and then shone in Italy with AC Milan. Shevchenko, who also played two seasons at Chelsea before retiring in 2012, already serves as Fomenko’s assistant.