UEFA charged Russia with serious sanctions for their fans’ sickening behaviour after the 1-1 draw with England on Saturday evening, though questions should be asked about the security measures inside the stadium and how England were forced to play their opening game in Marseille.

Russian fans smuggled in flares, stun grenades and flash bombs despite Uefa saying that there would be heightened security at the tournament following the events in Paris last November.

Russia are being charged with crowd disorder and racist behaviour after fans inside the stadium launched what looked like an organised and determined attack on fleeing England supporters.

And Uefa warned both England and Russia that they could be expelled from the tournament if scenes of serious fan disorder continue.

However, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko claimed that there were no fights and that the stories were being exaggerated and placed the blame on Uefa for their poor organisation.

He said: “There was no clash, that’s being exaggerated. In fact everything is fine here. When the match ended, there was no barrier between the fans. The British were upset, of course, but it all quickly dissolved.

“Such matches should be organised properly. It is necessary to separate the fans [at the stadium]. The bad thing is that there were firecrackers and flares. There were no nets. One must understand these things.”

Those sentiments were echoed by the head of the Russian football fans’ union Aleksandr Shprigin who, despite mass video evidence, says that there were no clashes inside the stadium. “In fact, there was no clash,” said Shprigin.

“The entire English sector… just got up and ran away. There were no scuffles, police were standing there. Everything is OK. The police are working well.”

Uefa admitted after that there were segregation issues and that security personnel were too few at Stade Velodrome.

Fifa “strongly condemned” the violence that has been rife since Friday night and continues to overshadow the football.

Photographs and videos continue to be released of mass brawls, with chairs and tables being thrown, and the streets of France resembling a wrestling match and not a major football tournament.

England fans have been attacked on multiple occasions, with journalists in Marseille saying that the fan violence is being started by the French and Russians.

Riot police have been called on multiple occasions in an attempt to disperse the large crowds of hooligans to little effect.

Reports of Russian “fans” attempting to lure England fans down alleyways and hooded locals attacking bars counter the early stories of England fans starting fights, with some believing the violence stems from the clashes between French and English fans at the 1998 World Cup.

The chief executive of the Football Supporters’ Federation, Kevin Miles, who is in Marseille, blamed the French police for many of the problems and said England fans were not responsible for initiating any of the violence.

Miles said: “I am very, very critical of the policing — the French police have stood back and watched some of those groups get themselves organised and then initiate attacks on English fans.

“None of the violent incidents have been initiated by England fans. I’ve not said the behaviour of England fans has been perfect but there’s a big difference between that sort of anti-social behaviour and initiating a violent attack.”

These reports from France suggesting that Russian fans are playing a vital role in the fights on the streets, added to the footage from Saturday night, are likely to raise more questions whether the next World Cup should be staged in Russia.