The head of a Russian soccer supporters’ association, Alexander Shprygin, is among 20 Russian fans who are to be expelled from France in the coming days, a police source said yesterday.

The 20 are from a group of 43 detained by police in the Marseille region on Tuesday after violence flared at their Euro 2016 match against England.

Shprygin told Reuters by telephone on Tuesday that a bus carrying himself and other supporters to Lille in northern France had been stopped by riot police in Cannes in the south of the country.

Also yesterday three Russian fans were handed jail sentences of one year, 18 months and two years respectively by a Marseille court for planning acts intended to harm people and destroy property.

Yesterday, UEFA said it was planning no Executive Committee meeting in the wake of overnight fan violence on the streets of Lille.

UEFA’s decision effectively means England are not under any threat of disqualification over their fans’ behaviour.

Any decision to expel England for crowd disturbances outside the stadium would need to be taken by the executive committee.

French riot police charged and used tear gas to disperse rowdy English football fans in Lille on Wednesday, though the northern city was spared feared clashes with Russian supporters.

Throughout the day, police said, 36 people were arrested for various offences as Russia lost to Slovakia in Lille and England prepared to play rivals Wales in the same Euro 2016 group in nearby Lens yesterday afternoon.

On Sunday, UEFA’s executive committee warned both England and Russia that it would “not hesitate” to impose sanctions, including disqualification, if there was a repeat of violent disturbances by their fans in Marseille the day before.

These sanctions would be in addition to anything imposed by UEFA’s own disciplinary committee which can only deal with incidents which take place inside stadiums.