More tear gas for English fans in Lille

At least 36 people were arrested in Lille overnight following clashes between French police and football fans at the Euro 2016 tournament.

French police said the arrests had been made throughout Wednesday – adding that 16 people had been hospitalised.

On Wednesday night, riot police charged at hundreds of England football fans and fired tear gas at them as flares and bangers were set off.

Earlier, some English and Russian supporters had been detained after scuffles.

England and Wales will play each other in the nearby city of Lens Thursday afternoon but thousands of the teams’ supporters have been staying in the larger city of Lille ahead of the match.

Russian and Slovakian supporters were also in Lille, after their game at the city’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday.

It follows clashes between mainly English, Russian and French fans in Marseilles at the weekend.

The Russian football team was given a suspended disqualification from the tournament following attacks by their supporters on England fans in Marseille.

Uefa also threatened to disqualify England from Euro 2016 if there was any further violence by fans.

Darkness brought a dramatic escalation in tensions between English fans and French police.

The fears earlier in the day had been of attacks by hardcore Russian hooligans, but English fans stole the limelight as they sang their chant “Please don’t send me home” and threw bottles in challenge at the police.

After funnelling fans down the city’s streets, the police withdrew and some fans were left to stay in the city centre, if in a less boisterous mood.

It’s unclear what caused the situation to escalate, as earlier in the day the police had been happy to contain the fans and keep them separate.

French authorities said those arrested on Wednesday included six Russians involved in the violence in Marseille.

Another five people were arrested for public drunkenness on a train from London that was stopped before it got to Lille and then allowed to continue.