Slutsky urges Russia fans to behave

Russia head coach Leonid Slutsky has again called for supporters to behave ahead of their Euro 2016 Group B clash with Slovakia in Lille.

UEFA issued a fine and a suspended disqualification from the tournament against Russia as a result of the violent scenes inside Stade Velodrome in Marseille last Saturday, when fans charged a section of the English support.

Striker Artem Dzyuba accused the UK media of biased reporting of those events and the earlier fan clashes around the city, which led to criminal charges being brought against individuals from England, France and Austria.

The Russian Football Union (RFU) issued a statement on Monday to urge fans not to engage actions which could jeopardise their place in the finals, and Slutsky has reiterated that plea.

“We published a press release yesterday from our team and the staff and we asked the supporters to behave in the framework of rules. I want to do the same again,” he said on Tuesday.

“They supported us well in the England game and I hope they continue. We need support but we have to insist that we focus on the support of our team in a legal framework. We have to avoid dangerous situations and we hope they will understand and support us.”

Vasili Berezutski’s last-minute equaliser against England means a win over Slovakia will put Russia in a strong position in Group B as they look to progress to the knockout phase.

Slutsky, however, warned that his side remain far from favourites to seal their place in the next round.

“I’m pretty sure we won’t overestimate ourselves, we understand that we haven’t seen a huge dominance in any game yet,” he said. “It’s pretty even.

“We’re not actually favourites in any of our games, England are the best in our group and we just have to perform against Wales and Slovakia as we did against England.”