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Russian hooligan arrested for 'attempted homicide' of England fan at Euro 2016

Ben Rumsby
England fan Andrew Bache was left paralysed after being hit around the head with an iron bar - AFP
England fan Andrew Bache was left paralysed after being hit around the head with an iron bar - AFP

A Russian hooligan wanted for the “attempted homicide” of an England fan at the 2016 European Championship was arrested on Wednesday following a continent-wide manhunt.

The unnamed 31-year-old is suspected of attacking Andrew Bache, who was left paralysed on the left-hand side of his body after being hit around the head with an iron bar during a rampage ahead of England and Russia’s Euro 2016 opener in Marseille.

German police announced a man “now sits in jail” after being detained at Munich Airport while he was travelling to watch Spartak Moscow’s Europa League game at Athletic Bilbao.

He risks up to 15 years in prison in France for attempted homicide and grievous bodily harm.

The sickening attack on England fans by hammer and iron bar-wielding Russian hooligans two summers ago left 35 people injured, including two seriously.

One of those was 51-year-old Bache and British and French police worked together to identify his assailant before an arrest warrant was issued two months ago.

This file photo taken on June 11, 2016 shows a French riot policeman firing tear gas during fights between supporters of England, Russia and French groups in Marseille, on the sidelines of the Euro 2016 European football championships. A Russian football hooligan sought by authorities for savagely attacking a British fan at Euro 2016 in France has been arrested, German police said on February 22, 2018 - Credit: AFP
England and Russia's fans clashed in Marseille ahead of their Euro 2016 meeting Credit: AFP

German prosecutor Joachim Ettenhofer said the suspect detained on Wednesday could be extradited to France within two weeks, adding: “These things usually go pretty quickly.”

Three Russians were jailed and more than 20 others deported from France over the Marseille violence, which saw both England and Russia threatened with expulsion from Euro 2016.

Russian president Vladimir Putin sought to minimise the violence, drawing laughter from the crowd at an economic forum as he questioned “how 200 of our fans could beat up several thousand English”.

But as the country gears up to host the World Cup, its powerful FSB security service has cracked down hard on football gangs and blacklisted many of their leaders.

After England qualified for the tournament in October, Britain’s most senior football police officer told the Daily Telegraph fans travelling to Russia were in danger of being subjected to an “extreme level of violence” at the hands of hooligans.