MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Many of English and Russian fans involved in after-Euro 2016 match violence in Marseille were not on their countries’ police lists, a spokesman for the French Interior Ministry said Sunday.
"If there was a failure it was on the part of football," the ministry tweeted Pierre-Henry Brandet as saying. "Precautionary and preventive measures have been taken."
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said earlier his ministry banned 3,000 "pseudo-supporters" from entering the country based on the lists provided by Russia and Britain. British authorities kept thousands more from travelling to France, he added.
But Brandet said Sunday that French police knew nothing of many potential troublemakers who then took part in late Saturday’s skirmishes, according to national broadcaster RFI. Violence erupted after England-Russia game ended in a 1:1 draw.
