Russia rout Czechs, Poles held by Greece

 Czech Republic's Petr Jiracek (C) controls the ball

Euro 2012 got off to an incident-packed start on Friday with Group A favourites Russia thrashing the Czech Republic 4-1 while Greece spoiled the party for co-hosts Poland in a drawn opening match as both teams finished with 10 men.

Russia captain Andrei Arshavin turned in an inspired performance as his side put on a breathless display of counter-attacking football in Wroclaw that blew the Czechs away.

The Russians will next face Poland who got the perfect start against Euro 2004 champions Greece when talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski scored early but the Greeks fought back and even missed a penalty in a lively encounter.

The start of the action on the pitch helped draw attention away from fears over racism at the event, which Poland is jointly staging with Ukraine and is the biggest of its kind in eastern Europe since the collapse of communism.