Russia calls on Poland to prevent more football violence

Moscow, June 13 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia hopes Poland will take action to prevent future clashes between football fans, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

A march by thousands of Russian fans ahead of a Euro 2012 football championship game between Poland and Russia, which ended in a 1-1 draw, came under attack by masked hooligans Tuesday.

Police detained 184 people, 156 of them Poles, 25 Russians, and three other foreign fans.

"We sincerely hope the events of June 12 will not be repeated, and the Polish authorities will take whatever measures are necessary, and the remaining matches will be a real celebration for all football fans," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

"We are taking all necessary measures to provide assistance for the injured and detained Russian citizens," the statement said.

Polish authorities have apologised for the violence that broke out and promised severe punishment for the hooligans detained after the bloody clashes near the stadium.

However, Polish Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki said Wednesday that the detained Russians would likely be deported from Poland and banned from Europe's border-free Schengen area for five years.

Relations between Moscow and Warsaw have been soured by centuries of territorial conflicts and the Soviet domination of Poland after the second World War.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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