Spare a thought for the French police who have enough on their hands without large groups of loutish football yobs coming into the country, writes GARY LEMKE.
France, in general, and Paris in particular, is on high alert in the wake of the November 2015 terror attacks which left 130 people dead, without having to deploy already stretched forces to quell the violence that has erupted on their streets and city centres during Euro 2016
Already there has been significant bloodshed after running battles between Russian and England ‘supporters’ and those between Germany and Ukraine. You can just imagine what former London mayor Boris Johnson thinks of it all as he looks to score political points to aid his ‘Brexit’ campaign.
Although reports in England – admittedly I haven’t digested the reportage on the Russian websites as my knowledge of the language is non-existent – seem to have laid a large proportion of the chaos that blighted the 1-1 draw between the countries in Marseille at the feet and fists of the Russians, the English have hardly been blameless.
That they seem to have come off second best in the bloody skirmishes is undeniable, but images of some England yobs hurling bottles and other objects at police tell a story in itself. There is also a particularly disturbing image which shows a clearly unconscious England ‘fan’ being attended to by a countryman; the occasion however is not serious enough for the helper to put down his beer.
I have every sympathy for the French police and, from past experience having seen violence up close and personal erupt at football matches in London, think that they should be given more power. Instead of chucking tear gas canisters into the unruly mobs, get those water cannons and point them at the aggressors. Or, better still, round them up into a corner or enclosed space and blast them with those water cannons. You’d be surprised at how effective they can be.
However, France has enough to worry about without having to spend so much extra time and resource on combating thuggery. They have the very real threat of urban terrorism right on their doorsteps and Euro 2016 crowds could be construed as a soft target for terror.
What too of the 2018 Fifa World Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted in Russia? Even if Russia were awarded the tournament under a flawed, corrupt process, the thoughts of Russian hooligans lying in wait for foreigners to come into their country in two years’ time is something that sends a cold chill down the spine.
Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
