'Well done guys, keep it up': Russian officials are trolling us by condoning violence at Euro 2016

Violent Russia supporters have been thrown out of France, the national team was handed a "suspended disqualification" from Euro 2016, and people are getting very worried about the next World Cup, which will be held in ... Russia.

While FA and UEFA officials are trying to calm fans down ahead of Russia's next game, Russian officials do not seem to care about the behaviour of their fans. One Russian Football Association official even tweeted "well done guys, keep it up!" The Russia manager is equally relaxed about the potential disqualification. And an ultranationalist Russian activist who was once photographed giving a Nazi salute has some sort of official link to the team's entourage and is following the team around France.

Violent attacks against British fans in Marseille injured 35. Russian supporters stormed the England sections of the stadium as soon as the final whistle was blown in the game between the two nations, yet no Russian fans were arrested. The Russian team has been told that if more violence breaks out in the stadiums the national team will be disqualified from Euro 2016. UEFA - the governing body behind the Euros - has also fined Russia's football federation €150,000 (£118,000).

In an effort to crack down on the most violent fans, French police raided hotel rooms where Russian fans were known to be staying, where they checked the identity and took pictures of 29 men. Authorities feared that the fans would renew their attacks in Lille, where most of them were headed to attend Russia's game against Slovakia, the AFP reports. Some fans have already been taken to a holding-centre and the police are still checking if those detained are on a list of potentially dangerous fans.

Six England fans were arrested, given jail sentences ranging from one to three months and banned from France after being involved in fights and throwing bottles at the French police in Marseille.

A spokesperson for the French government, Stéphane Le Foll told RTL on Tuesday that there had been communication problems with the Russian authorities. "It seems very clear that some of those who were the most violent, and who in the Old Port of Marseille attacked especially the English fans, were Russians who came in small groups. And there, there is a real issue of collaboration to prevent such groups to act."

"Well done guys, keep it up!"

Russian officials do not seem to share the same concerns. A senior official of the Russian Football Union (RFU), Igor Lebedev, said Monday that he supported the actions of the Russian fans. "I do not see what's wrong with the fact that fans fight," he said on Twitter according to RTL, adding: "It is rather the opposite, well done guys, keep it up!

"In nine out of 10 cases football fans go to games to fight, and that's normal. The lads defended the honour of their country and did not let English fans desecrate our motherland," he told a news agency.

Lebedev is a member of the executive committee of the RFU and a member of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. He also claimed that what happened in Marseille was not the fault of the fans but of the French authorities who did not have the ability to organise the European cup.

He also condemned "the politicians and officials who criticise our fans," from his point of view, "you have to support them, bring them home."

A spokesman for Russia's Investigative Committee added that "A normal man, as he should be, surprises them," tweeted Vladimir Markin, talking about European outrage at Russian hooligans. "They're used to seeing 'men' at gay parades," he said, according to the BBC.

The Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, eventually denounced the clashes and said the fans "shamed Russia," but not before being seen applauding Russian fans after the game, according to the Guardian. Asked about the minister's comments, Lebedev said that if Mutko had been in the stadium with the fans, and was not a politician, "he would have fought the English too as they started it."

And then there is the apparent official accreditation of Alexander Shprygin (all accreditation applications need to be screened by police according to the UEFA, although a senior source told the Guardian Shprygin had not been accredited through them), a notorious far-right Russian activist who was photographed doing a Nazi salute, and who is following the team during Euro 2016, the Guardian reports. He formed the Russian Supporters Union in 2007, and has said he would like to only see "Slavic faces in the Russian national team." After the draw with England, Mutko called him to congratulate him.

Shprygin has also been tweeting about the actions of the French police, publishing pictures of the police forces detaining Russian fans. "Shrypgin's involvement and recognition as a fan leader speaks volumes about the positioning and influence of the far-right within the Russian fan scene," Piara Powar, the executive director of the Fare network, which provides official observers at matches for UEFA and FIFA, told the Guardian.

A spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin condemned the Russian fans' behaviour in Marseille while also noting that fans from other countries were involved in the incidents. "It's absolutely unacceptable, and we certainly expect our citizens to respect the country's laws," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday in a conference call, according to the Associated Press.

'They supported us very well during the England game'

The Russian manager, Leonid Slutsky did not seem worried about a potential disqualification: "We are sure we are not going to be kicked out (of Euro 2016). There is not going to be any injustice. We are sure (our fans) will not do the same, they will not give any reasons to disqualify our team."

Slutsky insisted that they spoke to their fans who would not break any rules again, and added: "We need their support. They supported us very well during the England game," the AP reports.

A prosecutor in Marseille blamed "highly trained" Russian thugs for the worst of the violence during the clashes, leaving one English fan fighting for his life, reports from people in Marseille also said that the fans were sober and organised, picking their victims before beating them.

Those incidents are already raising fears about the safety of players and fans during the 2018 World Cup which will be held in Russia. Russian fans have caused the worst violence inside stadiums for the second time during a European championship, the Associated Press reports. During the Euro 2012, stadium security staff in Poland were assaulted by Russian fans and violent fights broke out between Polish and Russian fans.

France, which is already on high terrorist alert, fears that the Russian fans will keep on clashing with people in the next games and security for the next Russia game has been drastically reinforced. Slovakia and Russia will face each other on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Lille.