Russia's Lavrov raps soccer fans' arrest in France

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has denounced as “unacceptable” the recent interception of a bus carrying Russian football fans and the ensuing detention of them by the French police.  

"It was an absolutely unacceptable incident when a bus with more than 40 Russian fans was stopped by police," Lavrov told the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, on Wednesday.

The fans were asked to “get off the bus for document and identification checks,” he added.

On Tuesday, the French police took a group of 43 Russian supporters into custody on suspicion of taking part in clashes with England supporters in the southern port city of Marseille last week at the start of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.

The fans had been on a coach heading to the north of France from the southeastern city of Cannes.

Elsewhere in his comments, Lavrov said the French authorities had not informed the Russian embassy or the consulate in Marseille before intercepting the bus transporting the football fans.

Alexander Shprygin, the head of the Russian football supporters association, was among those detained, but he has denied that any of the fans were involved in the Marseille scuffles.

The Russian minister said the country’s diplomatic missions in France only learned of Tuesday’s incident from social media.

Lavrov’s remarks came one day after the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) fined Russia 150,000 euros (168,300 dollars) and imposed a suspended disqualification on the Russian Football Union following violent scenes at the end of the match against England in Marseille.

The disqualification will take effect if the fans cause more trouble at any of Russia's remaining matches in the Euro 2016.

Lavrov further acknowledged that the behavior of some of the Russian supporters was "unacceptable," but criticized the "provocative" conduct of England fans.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that [the French] are trying to ignore the absolutely provocative actions of fans from other countries," he said.

Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also expressed hope that the investigation into the Marseille clashes would treat all sides fairly.

Moscow calls in French envoy

In a relevant development on Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador to Moscow, Jean-Maurice Ripert, over the detention of the Russian soccer fans.

In a statement, the ministry said that the French envoy was notified about "discrimination" towards the Russian citizens.

It also warned that "further stoking of anti-Russian sentiments... could significantly aggravate the atmosphere in Russian-French relations."

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