Russia face a Uefa investigation after England supporters fled the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, in fear of being physically attacked by opposition supporters after the worst days of football violence in decades. Women and children were thought to have been caught underfoot in a stampede out of the stadium at the end of England’s 1-1 draw, when Russian fans broke from their area of seating and ran at the English supporters. Russia fans are serial offenders when it comes to misconduct at games and the national side have only just avoided an automatic six-point deduction that would have seen them effectively thrown out of European Championships.

They received a suspended six-point deduction for throwing fireworks and display illicit banners in 2012 but their period at risk ended after the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Uefa will now examine how they will be punished for the severe violence of supporters which saw English fans set upon and one man suffer a cardiac arrest. Deducting World Cup points would be difficult as they are 2018 hosts.

Uefa also face severe questions about the handling of security at a game which was always destined to be a potential flashpoint. In particular, the lack of segregation at Stade Velodrome was astonishing and there were deeply inadequate numbers to deal with an obvious threat of violence. Uefa had no comment to make on Saturday night, but said they would reveal details of disciplinary proceedings when they receive information from their disciplinary department on Sunday morning.

But Russia face the most questions. Before the English fans were chased, three flares were set off in the stadium, some of the burning for several minutes before they exploded. The players were alarmed to hear the accompanying loud bang and see the flares sent across the pitch towards them.

At the end of the match, Joe Hart mouthed to his family in the stand to stay in the ground at the end of the match, for their own safety. Jamie Vardy’s wife Rebekah tweeted: “That has to be up there with the worst experience ever at an away game! Teargassed for no reason, caged and treated like animals”

The Russia manager Leonid Slutsky ducked questions on the violence on Saturday night. He said: “Once again I can't really comment on what's gone on. I can't really address that. To be honest, I'm not really up to speed with what's gone on. We were focused on the game, so I'm not really up to speed with what's been going on outside the stadium. But, clearly, that's not good to go hand in hand with football.”

Reminded of the previous offence, he said: “What problem did we have in the qualification campaign? What problems did we have? I don't remember that situation with the six points. I think you're mistaken there. I don't think there was a six-point suspended sentence.”

The violence earlier in the day was far more severe, when English fans who had been drinking in the sun for much of the day found themselves set upon by gangs of Russians, many wearing uniform black T-shirts. Some of the English were simply too drunk to escape the faster, fitter Russians who clearly arrived intending violence. They were attacked with any weapon that came to hand.

England fans have been involved in three days of violent clashes in Marseille (Getty)

Though the Russian behaviour and Uefa’s own organisation pose the prime questions, the inflammatory conduct of some English will come under question. Senior British police have urged England fans to consider the fact that their French officers are already dealing with a serious security threat before acting in a way which may provoke clashes throughout the tournament.

The reputation of the nation’s supporters took a further battering on Saturday, when there were yet more running battles between English fans and French police, confirming the worst fears of senior British officers about the scheduling of the opening game on a hot weekend on the Mediterranean.

Mark Roberts, head of the UK Football Policing Unit, told The Independent three months ago that he wanted fans to consider the size of the task facing the French force before they travelled. With the first fixture having brought the worst instances of English excess drinking and anti-social behaviour to southern France, officers desperately want to prevent the actions of a minority spiralling out of control by provoking an increasingly strong French reaction.

England vs Russia player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 England vs Russia player ratings England vs Russia player ratings <b>England:</b> Joe Hart - 6 out of 10 Had very little to do in the first half and was composed for the vast majority of the match except for one misdemeanour in the dying minutes of the game. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Kyle Walker - 7 out of 10 Very impressive 90 minutes. Repeatedly posed a threat on the overlap and delivered ball after ball into the box throughout the match. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Chris Smalling - 7 out of 10 Dealt well with Dzyuba and won the vast majority of his head-to-heads against the Russian target man. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Gary Cahill - 6 out of 10 Hardly tested in the first half and looked confident driving forward with the ball. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Danny Rose - 7 v Similar performance to Walker. Got forward well down the left and provided some excellent balls into the box. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Eric Dier - 8 out of 10 Defensively solid, broke up play and provided a solid foundation for England on the counter-attack. Great free-kick to give England the lead. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Dele Alli - 6 out of 10 Linked up with Kane neatly at times but could have offered more in the second half. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Wayne Rooney - 7 out of 10 Slotted into his new position well. Picked out the right passes where appropriate and made sure to track back. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Raheem Sterling - 5 out of 10 Managed to break well down the left but struggled to deliver into the box at times. Disappointing. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Adam Lallana - 6 out of 10 Strong start and enjoyed a number of very close chances on goal especially within the first half. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Harry Kane - 6 out of 10 One of his quieter games but he posed a threat nonetheless. Getty England vs Russia player ratings <b>Russia:</b> Igor Akinfeev - 7 out of 10 Kept the English out in the first half and pulled off an exceptional save in the second 45 minutes. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Igor Smolnikov - 6 out of 10 Struggled with Rose during the first 45 minutes but settled down in the second half. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Sergei Ignashevich - 6 out of 10 Sound defensive performance and coped with England's pace despite his age. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Vasili Berezutsky - 6 out of 10 Read the game well at times and put in a number of important interceptions and challenges. Great header for the equaliser. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Georgi Schennikov - 6 out of 10 Subbed off early after an uninspiring performance. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Roman Neustadter - 5 out of 10 Subdued game for the Russian and was out played especially in the first 45 minutes. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Aleksandr Golovin - 6 out of 10 Like his counterparts in the middle, Golovin offered little to the Russian side. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Fyodor Smolov - 6 out of 10 Showed occasional character and threatened with one particularly close shot in the second half. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Oleg Shatov - 6 out of 10 Linked up with Dzyuba at times and provided some good service. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Aleksandr Kokorin - 6 out of 10 Linked up with Dzyuba at times and provided some good service. Getty England vs Russia player ratings Artem Dzyuba - 6 out of 10 Lacked the service needed to pose any real threat but came into his own in the final 10 minutes. Getty

Though there has been a substantial element of provocation behind the violence in Marseille’s old port, some English conduct has been an embarrassment and shown the absence of any kind of self-policing among groups. A low point was the chanting about Isis by a few moronic fans – which shows a blatant disregard for the seriousness of the task in hand for the French.