Trouble flared again at Euro 2016 after England and Russia fans brawled and chased one another through Lille city centre, in echoes of the violence that marred their match in Marseille on the opening weekend.

The fears of French authorities, who drafted in extra police and emergency services to swell their numbers to 4,000, were realised when skirmishes began following Russia’s match with Slovakia near the city’s main train station.

Both England and Russia have been warned by Uefa’s executive board they could be thrown out of the tournament if there are repeats of the violence in Marseille, where a small group of England fans clashed with police and locals before 150 highly organised Russians caused several serious injuries and left one fan in a critical condition.

The clashes, quickly clamped down on by scores of military and plain clothes police who fired teargas to clear the streets, were the first serious incidents since thousands of England, Wales, Slovakia and Russia supporters flooded into the northern French city. England play Wales tomorrow in the nearby city of Lens, but ticketless fans had been advised to head for Lille as Lens has too few facilities to cope with large numbers.

A small group of England fans in their late teens said that Russian fans had started the trouble by charging at a larger knot of around 200 England fans drinking outside the Le Prize pub, 100 metres from the main square.

Hundreds of England fans had spent the day drinking outside bars near Lille’s domestic train station. For the most part it was good natured, involving little more than songs and impromptu games of football. But as the afternoon wore on, the songs and chants became more specifically anti-Russian, especially with news of Russia’s loss to Slovakia.

“We’re England and Wales, fuck off Russia, we’re England and Wales!” went one chant, along with a song of “Russia’s going home”. As Russian fans began arriving in the centre of Lille after the game they mainly hung back and watched the songs, some smiling, though one could be seen carefully folding a large Russia flag to put away in a pocket.

But as more Russian fans arrived, the chants from their English and Welsh counterparts got louder and was accompanied by finger pointing and some evident tension.

A loud bang from a flare or firework appeared to be the signal for a small group of Russians to charge at England fans, some of whom had mounted a parked car. England and Wales fans then chased the Russians through the streets, with large numbers of police in hot pursuit.

The opposing sets of fans scattered through the back streets of Lille’s old city, pursued by French CRS riot police. In chaotic scenes there were a few skirmishes, but some fans were clearly trying to escape. One father in an England shirt could be seen leading away his two young sons, one of them aged about six who was weeping in his arms.

The skirmishes soon broke up and police at one point used teargas to break up one big group on a street dotted with cafes and apartment buildings. A French family could be seen coughing and wiping their eyes as they struggled with the lock to their apartment block.

The incident had echoes of a smaller scale episode on Tuesday afternoon, when a small number of Russians charged at England fans singing anti-Russian songs, leading to two arrests. There were further small scale brawls overnight.

Earlier, relations had been good natured between Russian and Slovakian fans at the stadium. A single flare was lit when Russia scored but otherwise the atmosphere was benign.

A ban on alcohol sales from shops and supermarkets in Lille began on Tuesday at 6pm and will run until 6am on Friday, partly aimed at reducing the potential for glass bottles to be used as missiles. Some 350 bars in the city are required to close at midnight. Yesterday shops and cafes began to close early after the incident but others remained open. Just 100 metres away, many more locals and fans continued to eat, shop and drink.

The England manager Roy Hodgson and captain Wayne Rooney had earlier in the week appealed for calm, with FA chief executive Martin Glenn writing to fans to tell them not to react to provocation.

“We recognise that some of you were subjected to acts of violence from rival supporters in the stadium last weekend. It is something we take very seriously and while tens of thousands of you acted impeccably, there was a minority that did not,” Glenn wrote.

“Like the England team, you represent the badge and I urge you to act in a positive and respectful way.” Guardian Service