Igor Lebedev, a member of the Russian football union's executive committee, has praised the actions of his country's violent fans at Euro 2016.

The tournament in France has so far been marred by scenes of violence, with the worst cases coming in clashes between Russian and English fans before, during and after the two teams faced each other in their opening Group B match.

However, instead of condemning the actions of the hooligans, Lebedev, who is also deputy chairman of the Russian parliament, has told them to "keep it up" despite UEFA's threat of expulsion from the tournament.

"I don't see anything wrong with the fans fighting. Quite the opposite, well done lads, keep it up! I don't understand those politicians and officials who are criticising our fans," Lebedev wrote on Twitter.

"We should defend them, and then we can sort it out when they come home. What happened in Marseille and in other French towns is not the fault of fans, but about the inability of police to organise this kind of event properly."

He is also quoted by Russian news website life.ru as saying: "In nine out of 10 cases, football fans go to games to fight, and that's normal. The lads defended the honour of their country and did not let English fans desecrate our motherland. We should forgive and understand our fans.

"Our fans are far from the worst; it's unclear why a lot of media are trying to say our fans' actions were shameful. You should be objective. If there had been no provocation from English fans, it's unlikely our fans would have got into fights in the stands."

In contrast, Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has criticised the behaviour of his country's fans and has welcomed UEFA's decision to open disciplinary proceedings.