Violence Erupts at Euro 2016: England and Russia Fans Involved in Mass Brawl in France

Sports rivalries are among the most common and most intense types of rivalries one can ever find themselves in. Taking into consideration that football is one of the most popular, if not the most, sport in the world, pinning nation against nation in a massive football tournament like Euro 2016 could heat up these rivalries even more.

Security has already been heightened for the football tournament, which happens every four years. This is due to a suspected terrorist attack that luckily was stopped by a sting operation. The heightened security detail also helped in stopping a massive brawl between two sets of football fans, which were English on one side and Russian on the other.

The brawl occurred even before the match between England and Russia had begun. After the came ended in a 1-1 draw because of a last-minute Russian equalizer, CNN reports that authorities believe that both sets of clashing fans would lose no matter what the result of the match between their respective teams was.

A total of 31 people were injured during the brawl including three police officers. Eight of those involved in the sports rivalry-fueled royal rumble were arrested. The arrests included Russian and English citizens at two apiece adding to the total, which started with the arrests five British and four French citizens last Friday. This marks the third successive day wherein such incidents have occurred.

 According to reports from the Daily Mail, the governing body of European football, UEFA, will launch an investigation regarding this incident and others that are similar or related to it. Photos from the event show multiple fans hurdling over railings as they try to escape the violence that had erupted in the stands. Unfortunately, the photos also show that the violence between fans has spilled over to the streets of host nation France.