Vladimir Putin MOCKS England fans attacked by mob of Russian ultras at Euro 2016

The streets of Marseille were engulfed in disorder before last Saturday’s 1-1 draw and it continued inside the stadium – but Putin appears to have made light of the violence

Vladimir Putin has mocked England fans who were attacked by a mob of hundreds of Russian thugs at Euro 2016 .

The president’s remarks came after England’s draw with Russia which was marred by violence between the opposing sides.

French police said a dangerous group of 150 “hyper-rapid and hyper-violent” fans travelled from Russia to Marseille only to cause damage.

The streets of Marseille were engulfed in disorder before last Saturday’s 1-1 draw – and it continued inside the stadium.

Russia fans stormed England supporters in the ground, forcing many to run for safety.

England fans who were at the game have claimed some Russian supporters even wore England shirts to blend in, before launching their savage attacks.

Although Russia is now facing disqualification from the tournament, Putin used a speech in St Petersburg to poke fun at those who were attacked.

He said: “The fighting between Russian fans with the English, that is a disgrace.

“I don’t know how 200 Russian fans could beat several thousand of the British.”

The audience reportedly roared with laughter at the politician’s joke.

He then set his sights on governing body UEFA which has attempted to curb the violence by warning both England and Russia that they could be booted out of the tournament. He added: “At the moment we see that there are many problems in sports.

“The European football cup is taking place at the moment, but I believe that people are paying more attention to the fan fights.

“And I regret saying this. I regret seeing that people pay such importance to fan fights.

“I guess the responsibility for such acts should be as personalised as possible.

“And the way we treat the violators has to be the same. They have to all be equally treated.”

It comes just days after three Russian football fans were given prison terms for their part in the violence.

A French court sentenced Alexei Erunov, Sergei Gorbachev and Nikolai Morozov to two years, 18 months and 12 months respectively.

Erunov is the director for fan relations at leading Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. He was sentenced to two years.

Part of the evidence against Erunov was footage filmed by another Russian fan and posted online.

Erunov was seen shouting and gesturing on the video, which also showed acts of violence. He denied playing any role in the violence.

Dynamo Moscow fan Morozov received a 12-month sentence and Gorbachev, the director of a construction company in the central Russian city of Tula, received 18 months.

All three also face a two-year ban from France upon release.

The men were among 43 Russian fans detained on Tuesday after their bus was stopped by French police near the town of Mandelieu in a check for hooligans.

Russian officials have protested against the detention and have criticised French policing.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador in Moscow on Wednesday and warned that the detentions could damage French-Russian relations.

It was earlier announced that 20 Russian men are to be deported from France next week for their role in the violence that has marred the first week of Euro 2016.

Stephane Bouillon, prefect for the region that includes the southern French city of Marseille where the worst outbreak of violence took place, said the unnamed men will be deported on Monday.

He said they are suspected of "participation in skirmishes linked to the England-Russia game on June 11 in Marseille" and are currently being held in a detention centre.

The men were among 43 Russian fans detained on Tuesday after their bus was stopped by French police near the town of Mandelieu in a check for hooligans.

Uefa has already told Russian football authorities that their team could be kicked out of Euro 2016 if there is a repeat of the violence that surrounded its match against England.

Of particular concern to Europe's governing body is that Russian fans stormed a section of English fans inside the stadium.

English football's governing body has also been warned about the behaviour of its fans but the team's participation in the competition was not under immediate threat on Thursday, despite a fresh outbreak of fan violence in France that required riot police to deploy tear gas.

Although English fans in Lille were involved in further unrest on Wednesday night, Uefa has said there are no plans for an emergency meeting of its executive committee to discuss any further warning or sanctions against the English Football Association.

Earlier this week, Uefa's leadership ruled that England, along with Russia, faced potential disqualification if there was a repeat of the violence that surrounded their match in Marseille.

"Uefa regrets the skirmishes which occurred in Lille last night," European football's governing body said in a statement today.

 Mirror