Russia's Putin says will work to stamp out soccer hooliganism

[June 18, 2016]    ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he regretted violence at the Euro 2016 soccer tournament in France involving Russian fans, pledging Moscow would work to try to stamp out hooliganism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Mikhail Klimentyev

French authorities have said about 150 hard-core Russian fans took part in serious violence around the England-Russia game in Marseilles last weekend.

Putin, speaking at a question and answer session at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, said he wondered how "200 of our fans beat up several thousand English fans."

He also said it was important French authorities treated anyone caught making trouble equally.

(Reporting by Christian Lowe, Alexander Winning, Katya Golubkova and Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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