Euro 2016: Russian police helped catch convicted hooligans; three jailed in France

Bouches-du-Rhone: Three Russian football supporters jailed in France over violence in Marseille before the Euro 2016 match between England and Russia were arrested thanks to the help of Russian police, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Intelligence from the Russian police led to the detention Tuesday of 43 Russian supporters, including the three convicted over street battles which left more than 30 people injured in the southern French city.

The information was received "late, but better late than never," said Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin.

Earlier today, a French court jailed the three supporters for up to two years for their role in violence in Marseille.

Alexei Yerunov, Nikolai Morozov and Sergei Gorbachev were among 43 Russian supporters detained by French police in southern France on Tuesday after the pitched battles which left more than 30 people injured.

Yerunov, 29, who is supporters` liaison officer at Lokomotiv Moscow according to the club`s website, received the longest prison sentence of 24 months.

He admitted he was at the scene of an attack on an English supporter who was left in a critical state after being beaten around the head with an iron bar. He denied being responsible.

"I apologise. I recognise that I was there but I didn`t hit anyone. My hands are clean," he told the court.

Gorbachev, who leads a supporters` club at Russian second division club Arsenal Tula, was jailed for 18 months.

Morozov, 28, received the shortest sentence of 12 months.

Prosecutor Andre Ribe described the Russians` behaviour in the chaotic scenes in Marseille on Saturday: "It was a hunt. They ran off together, staying in a group and keeping enough energy for what they call `the fight`."