England captain Wayne Rooney and manager Roy Hodgson have pleaded with the country’s fans to avoid further violence to head off a Uefa threat to disqualify the team from Euro 2016.
“I’m appealing to you to stay out of trouble,” Hodgson said in a video message. “We really desperately want to stay in the competition.”
Rooney told fans: “Be safe, be sensible and continue with your great support for the players.”
Violence in Marseille overshadowed England’s 1-1 draw with Russia and European governing body Uefa threatened to kick both teams out of the tournament if the disorder continued.
It also said both countries must make an appeal to their fans not to cause unrest.
England play rivals Wales in the northern French city of Lens on Thursday and Russian fans will also be in the area as their team face Slovakia in nearby Lille a day earlier.
In a video message posted on the English Football Association’s Twitter feed, Hodgson said: “As England manager I’m obviously very concerned about the threat which is now hanging over us and the sanctions that could possibly be imposed upon the England team.
“We worked very hard to get here and we really desperately want to stay in the competition. I’m appealing therefore to all of our fans.
“We appreciate your support at all our matches, of course, but I’m appealing to you to stay out of trouble and to try and make certain that these threats that are being issued are never carried out.”
Following Hodgson, Rooney said: “I’d like to thank the England fans for the great support inside the stadium against Russia and now we have a big game coming up against Wales.
More from Euro 2016:
• Andy Mitten's Euro 2016 diary: Dark mood lingers over beautiful port city of Marseille
• Group B preview: England, Russia, Slovakia, Wales
• Euro 2016 daily five: Modric brings Real Madrid magic to Croatia; Ibrahimovic 'can still deliver'
“I’d like to ask the fans, please, if you don’t have a ticket, don’t travel, and for the fans with tickets, be safe, be sensible, and continue with your great support for the players. Thank you.”
The FA’s chief executive, Martin Glenn, said on Sunday that the warning from UEFA was being treated with the “utmost seriousness”.
“We understand the potential implications of our supporters’ actions and wholly accept that every effort needs to be made by the FA to positively urge them to act in a responsible and respectful way.”
The Russian Football Union has also issued a warning to fans, urging them to “show respect to the opponent and its fans” and “follow the laws and rules of conduct and public order in France”.
Before the tournament, England and Wales were advised to base themselves in Lille for Thursday’s game, rather than Lens, which is the smallest of the 10 host cities.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts, head of Britain’s policing operation for the tournament, said it was “realistic to expect” that Russian fans in Lille will “try to behave in a similar way”.
He told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "They will be in Lille the night before and people should just bear that in mind."
The violence in Marseille, which left one English supporter in a critical condition and 10 people facing trial, unsettled the families of some England players.
Rebekah Vardy, wife of Leicester City striker Jamie, tweeted that she had been caught up by “horrific” violence prior to the Russia game.
“That has to be up there with the worst experience EVER at an away game!” she wrote. “Teargassed for no reason, caged and treated like animals! Shocking!”
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
