ESPN staffJun 13, 2016, 08:34 AM
The wife of England striker Jamie Vardy has described scenes of "sheer panic" and of being "scared" and "petrified" following the heavy-handed treatment of fans by French police ahead of England's opening European Championship game against Russia in Marseille on Saturday night.
Rebekah Vardy tweeted about her experiences over the weekend, claiming fans were "caged and treated like animals" and although she had not witnessed the widely reported violence in Marseille's Vieux Port, Vardy gave a disturbing account of what many England fans experienced.
She told reporters: "With my tweets I wasn't trying to pinpoint anyone other than the lack of organisation and the police. The police are meant to be there to protect you. Well, I didn't feel protected; I felt threatened.
"In the vicinity where we were there were plenty of England fans singing but there was no problem. Then all of a sudden there was this big explosion of teargas, people were running and screaming -- it was sheer panic. So some photographers that were there suggested we follow them to take us back the way we came in when we parked the car.
"But when we got back to where we'd come from at the stadium, they'd shut all the gates, which were the main access points for all the fans coming up from the town. People were shaking those gates, trying to climb over them, women were screaming, kids had climbed up trees - it was like a scene from a movie.
"If you turned back the other way you were running into teargas, if you went towards the gates people were pushing and climbing all over you to try and get out. The police had herded everyone into this area and were throwing teargas into the crowds, and people were panicking and had nowhere to go unless they could climb over the fences. People were trying to do that but they were falling over on to concrete, cutting their faces, blood everywhere. I was scared, petrified, and there was a split-second when I thought: 'I'm not getting out of here.'"
Once inside the stadium Vardy explained that things did not improve much due to concerns about security and the behaviour of Russian fans.
She said: "My heart was pounding all of the game. There was a humongous bang. Some people thought it was a bomb. The Russians started letting flares off. The security was shocking. They didn't have enough manpower -- nobody checked my bag when I went through. I can't believe that a nation that has recently had terrorist attacks isn't more prepared. They just couldn't cope. When you tried to ask the police for advice they wouldn't even speak to you; it was like you didn't exist."
England goalkeeper Joe Hart was pictured on television at the end of the game advising his family to "stay safe" and Jamie Vardy has advised his wife not to attend any more games.
She said: "[Hart's] wife was sat in front of me. Obviously I didn't tell Jamie what had happened to me before the game. But I told him afterwards and he said that he didn't think I should come to any more of the games. I'm still going to go but I'll go straight to the stadium in future."
Meanwhile, assistant chief constable Mark Roberts, the head of Britain's Euro 2016 policing operation, has described Russian fans as "organised and determined to carry out sustained violent attacks" and claimed 14 England supporters have been hospitalised.
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.
"Our spotters in Marseille saw them putting in gum shields and putting on martial arts gloves and bandanas before attacking England fans in the port.
"We know some were carrying knives because one England fan was stabbed. They wore a kind of uniform - all in black t-shirts and clothing and most carried bum bags, possibly to conceal weapons.
"Their attacks were prolonged and well-orchestrated and left 14 England fans hospitalised. I cannot recall such a toll of serious injuries and this is a cause for serious concern."
He added: "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 there was a far larger hard core of Russian troublemakers we would estimate at around 300. They targeted English fans when the majority of them were decent people in Marseille to enjoy a drink and the football."
