British men thrown off World Cup train to Volgograd after one 'grabs at police officer's gun'

Another fan removed for 'punching a window'

Security officers at a railway station in Volgograd (AFP/Getty)

Two British men have been removed from a train travelling to the Russian city of Volgograd, where England were due to play their opening match in the World Cup.

The pair were charged with minor hooliganism and being drunk in public, police said.

One of the men was detained after an altercation with a police officer on the train in which he allegedly tried to grab the officer's gun.

The second man involved hurt his hand after reportedly punching a window and was taken to hospital, but has since been discharged.

Both men were removed from the train at Yelets station en route to Volgograd from Moscow.

A post, purportedly from a worker on the train at the time of the incident, on a Russian social media site said the injured fan had broken a window on the train and received lacerations to his hand.

It said the other fan had grabbed the pistol of a police officer. The weapon was removed from the fan and he was detained.

The post specified the two men involved were football fans.

A British Embassy spokesman in Moscow said: "Our staff are in contact with the local authorities regarding a British man who was detained following an incident on a train in Russia.

"We stand ready to offer him assistance."

The 2018 World Cup is taking place within 11 Russian cities, and authorities have vowed to hold a peaceful tournament and keep fans of all nationalities safe.

Yesterday a taxi was driven into a crowd in Moscow, injuring eight people.

Two Mexico supporters were among the injured in the incident near Red Square.

Authorities say the driver, Kyrgyzstan national Anarbek Chyngy, "lost control" of the vehicle and are not treating the incident as terror-related.

Additional reporting by Reuters