A Cheshire Police commander is leading the British policing operation in France during Euro 2016.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts defended England fans after the unsavoury scenes before, during and after the 1-1 draw with Russia on Saturday.

He has seen the opening week of the tournament overshadowed by clashes between rival supporters.

ACC Roberts told the Guardian a ‘hard core’ of Russian troublemakers were responsible for the violence in Marseille.

He said: “England has had its problems with hooligans in the past, but the Russians are entirely different. They are like nothing we have seen before.

“They are highly organised and determined to carry out sustained violent attacks at a level of aggression I have not encountered in the past 10 years.

Cheshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts

“Speaking candidly, it is clear there was a small minority of England fans who were in Marseille to cause trouble. Some of the English were guilty of anti-social behaviour.

“But English supporters were targeted when the majority of them were decent people in Marseille to enjoy a drink and the football.”

Now the ‘Gold’ commander for the UK support of the French operation, ACC Roberts has been the national lead for football policing since October 2014.

He was formerly the ‘Silver’ commander for England matches and was the football lead for Old Trafford matches during his time with Greater Manchester Police.

England fans in Marseille

British officers have been deployed to help communication between the police and fans as well as to act as advisors.

Related story: Increase in Cheshire Police patrols to combat alcohol-fuelled crime during Euro 2016

A huge number of English, Welsh and Northern Irish fans have travelled to France to support their teams.

In total 40 hooligans from Cheshire West had been ordered to hand their passports over before the tournament began.

ACC Roberts said: “We’ve got 250,000 tickets allocated to the UK and fans will also be trying to source them in France, so we’re looking at up to 500,000 supporter trips from the UK – it’s a massive operation.

“The English and British fans can be quite boisterous and it’s not usually that they’re causing problems, but more that they’re just having a good time.

“The majority of fans just want to have a good time and our aim is to keep them safe.

“There’s also the ongoing terror threat but they’re putting a massive security operation in place to make sure everyone stays safe and we’re there to support them in that aim.”

Both England and Russia have been threatened with explusion from the competition by UEFA if there is further violence.

England fans at the railway station in Marseille leaving in large numbers after their first Group B match against Russia

Manager Roy Hodgson and captain Wayne Rooney have both asked English fans to ‘be safe’ and stay out of trouble.

ACC Roberts also urged England fans with camera phone evidence of attacks on them to report it to Crimestoppers.

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