Fighting Between Poland And Russia Fans Leaves 7 Injured, 56 Arrested

The reported casualty toll from the fighting between Poland and Russia fans ahead of their Group A Euro 2012 match continues to rise. Initial reports had three people hurt; now that number is up to seven (although reports of a death have been denied by Warsaw police):

Tear gas is pretty bad news, I’d say. The rioting has apparently calmed down, but the police are going to have to be very very careful to avoid any sort of flare-up after the match, especially if one side is badly beaten. The fighting was sparked by Poland fans attacking a thousands-strong march to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Russian independence from the USSR, and that there’d be an incident is wholly unsurprising considering the long history of conflict between the two countries.