MOSCOW - Moscow hopes the Polish authorities will prevent incidents involving Russian football fans and take exhaustive measures to guarantee their security.
"Measures were taken to ensure the Russian fans’ security, but, unfortunately, they proved insufficient to prevent provocations by individual groups of Polish fans. We sincerely hope that the events of June 12 will not repeat themselves and the Polish authorities will take all necessary measures and the games that remain to be played will be a real fete for football fans," Maria Zakharova, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department, told the press on Wednesday.
At all stages of the preparations for the European football championship, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian representative offices in Poland remained in strong contact with Polish agencies responsible for maintaining order at the Euro 2012 championship, she said.
"Our embassy in Poland and the Russian consular services in Poland continue contacting Polish law enforcement services. All necessary measures are being taken to aid the injured and detained Russian citizens. Other Russian ministries, including the transport and interior ministries, are taking part in this work," Zakharova said.
Massive clashes erupted between Russian and Polish football fans before the Russian-Polish match on Tuesday, which ended in a draw, 1-1. Police were compelled to use water cannons and even fired warning shots in the air to subdue the fights. Several people were injured.
Overall, 184 hooligans were detained after the match, including 150 Poles and several dozen Russians, Polish government spokesman Pavel Gras said on Polish RMF FM radio on Wednesday.
