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Russian Suspect In French Custody Over Euro 2016 Attack


A Russian football supporter lobs a chair toward England fans sitting in a cafe at the 2016 European soccer championship in France.
A Russian football supporter lobs a chair toward England fans sitting in a cafe at the 2016 European soccer championship in France.

A Russian man has been taken into custody in the southern French city of Marseille in connection with an attack at the Euro 2016 soccer tournament in which an English fan was seriously injured.

The 31-year-old suspect, whose name was not made public, is under provisional custody, state prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux told the AFP news agency on March 12.

If convicted, the Russian could face up to 15 years in jail for attempted homicide and grievous bodily harm.

He was handed over to France by German authorities, who arrested him at Munich airport last month while he was traveling to Bilbao in Spain for a Spartak Moscow Europa League game.

The Russian Embassy in Berlin protested the arrest at the time.

The arrest comes just months before Russia hosts the World Cup this summer, with fears running high of a repeat of the street battles that took place in Marseille on June 11, 2016, ahead of the Russia-England match.

The man, along with several other Russian suspects, is accused of attacking 51-year-old England supporter Andrew Bache, who suffered fractured bones and injuries to the brain and lungs.

France jailed both Russia and England fans, and deported more than 20 others over the violence that left more than 30 people injured.

Based on reporting by AFP and the BBC

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