Off the wire
• Turkey's Erdogan sends letter to Putin to restore ties  • Turkey president sends message to Putin for better bilateral ties  • China air quality improves in April and May  • Feature: Giant outdoor chess installed on Greek island to symbolize refugee drama  • S. Africa sees contraction of capital inflows: central bank  • Feature: Elephant attacks give hard times to Tanzanian farmers  • Singaporeans hold vigil for Orlando shooting victims  • Indonesia plans to raise tobacco excise taxes  • Macedonian blood donors getting younger:Red Cross  • Weather forecast for world cities -- June 14  
You are here: 　 Home

Russia not to challenge UEFA punishment: Russian Sports Minister

Xinhua, June 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russia will not challenge the punishment imposed by UEFA on the Russian Football Union (RFC) and the country's national team following a clash between Russian and English fans, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Tuesday.

"The punishment is excessive, but we cannot influence it," Mutko was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

The clashes with "crowd disturbances, use of fireworks and racist behavior" occurred at a stadium in Marseiile, France, during a Russia-England match of the 2016 tournament on Saturday, UEFA said in a statement on Tuesday.

UEFA decided to impose a fine of 150,000 euros on the RFC and a suspended disqualification of the Russian national team, which may become effective should similar disturbances happen inside the stadium at any of the remaining matches of the Russian team, the statement added.

The Kremlin also called the behavior of Russian football fans "unacceptable."

"We hope that Russian citizens, Russian fans will respect the laws of the country they visit," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing on Tuesday. Endit