French paper L'Equipe reported that two England fans were in a critical condition after the running battles in the square and on side streets on Saturday afternoon, with a further 11 receiving minor injuries. One English fan was seen covered in blood with a bandage around his head, while another man was reportedly given CPR and taken to hospital after an apparent cardiac arrest.
Laurent Nunez regional police chief has told French media that five people have been wounded and six people arrested, stating they had been forced to intervene after fighting broke out between rival fans but a spokesman at La Timone Hospital said around 20 England fans were being treated there, along with a number of Russians.
He said “It appears to me that it's groups of Russian fans instigating attacks on England fans and then retreating. England fans were just enjoying the city and the atmosphere, it has to be said, before people just started running away from something going on. Skirmishes kept breaking out, with Russian fans, English fans and French fans trying to get away from the trouble, with some fans visibly in Marseille shirts. The process was repeated several times over a period of 45 minutes”
British newspaper reporters have said that England fans have been set upon by a highly organised and brutal Russian hooligan gang. The Daily Mirror's chief news reporter Andy Lines tweeted: “They looked for English fans to fight but no one would take them on. They then chased English everywhere. It's terrible. The Russian gang emerged from a side street and walked into main square”.
On Friday night, trouble flared for a second time and officers were forced to separate rival fans in the Vieux Port area. On that occasion, riot police marched towards hundreds of England fans who ran down the street and threw bottles at officers, who used tear gas to disperse them.
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