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Roy Hodgson has no 'magical powers' to control England fans

Wales players sing the national anthem before their Euro 2016 clash against Slovakia
Image: Roy Hodgson hopes Wales' national anthem is respected by England fans on Thursday

Roy Hodgson has called on England fans to respect the Wales anthem on Thursday - but admits his pleas are likely to fall on deaf ears.

Hodgson and his captain Wayne Rooney made an official appeal for supporters to behave in the days leading up to the Lens meeting at Euro 2016, in the wake of the trouble in Marseille.

Despite those appeals, some England fans were involved in a series of stand-offs with riot police in Lille on Wednesday evening as tear gas was again used.

And Hodgson admits he has no "magical powers" that will persuade supporters to do the right thing.

Police officers stand on guard as England fans hang flags from their hotel balcony in central Lille, on 15 June 2016
Image: Police officers stand on guard as England fans hang flags from their hotel balcony in Lille on Wednesday

"What I expect and what I'd like to see has no relevance in what happens in football today," said Hodgson, speaking before Wednesday night's trouble in Lille. "I can call for lots of things, but whether it changes behaviour is another matter.

"I'm a football coach. I don't give myself magical powers to change the way football fans act and behave.

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England manager Roy Hodgson insists he's never thought about whether any Wales players would make it into his side or vice versa

"If you ask me what I would like, I'd like to see both national anthems totally and utterly respected. I'd like total silence from England during the Welsh national anthem and total silence from them during our national anthem.

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"Whether we will see that or not, I don't know. We are here to play football. These are matters we cannot affect.

"It really has a very, very small bearing in our lives, what will have a bearing on our lives is the result, and that's what we are working to get.

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Wales manager Chris Coleman has urged his players to focus on beating England on the pitch, rather than talking about them off it

"Wales have done extremely well, they've done exceptionally well in qualifying. They've started the tournament well, they're obviously confident and we have got to make certain tomorrow that we do what we need to do, to try and give ourselves the best chance of winning the game.

"That's been our focus, quite frankly, ever since the moment the final whistle blew in Marseille."

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