Russian hooligans in World Cup crackdown after 2016 rampage скачать в хорошем качестве

Russian hooligans in World Cup crackdown after 2016 rampage

(29 May 2018) Ahead of the World Cup, Russian authorities are cracking down on the hooligan culture in football. Groups which wreaked havoc two years ago report surveillance and threats from law enforcement. Leading hooligans from each club face lengthy prison sentences on old or trumped-up charges if there's trouble at the World Cup, even if they aren't personally involved, a Moscow veteran hooligan told The Associated Press. He likened their situation to that of "hostages" and said the hooligan scene in Russia "is finished." "I definitely won't go to any Russian national team games because, if, God forbid, someone does something, I will be the first to be suspected of doing it," he said. Speaking on condition of anonymity to describe numerous illegal acts, he said he had flown to Marseille in 2016 specifically to take part in fights with the English fans on the streets and in the stadium at the European Championship. England's hooligans of the 1980s and 1990s inspired many Russian groups - most still bear English names - but in Marseille the Russians wanted to snuff out that reputation. "It was a game for boys where you must prove who's stronger. There's never any bad intentions," he said. Alexander Shprygin ran a fan group which worked with the government on World Cup planning, and had been photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he has rapidly fallen from grace. Shprygin was twice deported from France during the 2016 tournament and two of his organisation's board members were imprisoned in Marseille over the disorder. He denies any role. Three months later, Russian police arrested him in a toilet at a conference held by the national football federation, seeking to question him over an earlier brawl in Russia, and dragged him out past waiting media. His organisation has been dormant since then. Shprygin told the AP his friends in the hardcore fan scene have been summoned by Russia's Federal Security Service, the heir to the Soviet-era KGB, for "preventative conversations" and many want to go abroad during the World Cup. World Cup tickets are worthless without a Russian government-issue "Fan ID". Applicants are vetted by the Russian security services, who have denied several thousand Russian fans ID to see games at the World Cup and last year's Confederations Cup, according to Oleg Semyonov, formerly a leader of the Spartak Moscow fan scene, who now runs a legal advice hotline for supporters. Semyonov says authorities are using "a big database" which has barred people accused of taking part in football-related disorder _ including Shprygin, whose ID was cancelled two hours before a Confederations Cup game _ but also some with convictions dating back 20 years for minor offences like jaywalking or public drunkenness. Most top Russian clubs now have so-called "curators" from the security services "who work with the fan organisations" and have warned them off disorder, Semyonov added. Amid the crackdown, the Russian fan scene is increasingly split. So-called "ultras" focus on coordinated chants, lighting flares and staging elaborate displays at games, but can defend themselves if needed. The hardcore fighters mostly stick to pre-arranged brawls in forests because of tight stadium surveillance. Some fighters are drifting away from football and turning to organised mixed martial arts events which offer a chance to make money from their hobby. The Moscow hooligan also lamented the end of hooliganism's golden era, when battles between rival clubs in Moscow came down to tactics as much as strength. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...