A "chilling" BBC documentary revealed Russian hooligans are "planning to ambush England fans at next year’s World Cup" and turn another tournament into a "festival of violence," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. Three Lions supporters are "facing a repeat of the brutal beatings they suffered" at Euro 2016 from combat-trained thugs "lying in wait for them at Russia 2018." Russian hooligans are "ready to defy a crackdown on football-related disorder in the country ahead of the World Cup," with one saying, "For some, it will be a festival of football; for others, it will be a festival of violence." Confirmation England fans will be targeted at the tournament "comes in a new film, 'Russia’s Hooligan Army,'" which aired on Thursday night. The program, part of the BBC’s This World series, examines the "threat to Three Lions supporters during the World Cup" following the "sickening attacks on them by Russian thugs" at Euro 2016 (TELEGRAPH, 2/16).
The LONDON TIMES reported during the documentary, a hooligan known as "Vasily the Killer" alleged that last year’s violence was "sanctioned by the Russian government." Vasily, who allegedly organized "the trouble in Marseille," said, "They were special military forces of football hooligans sent by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to conquer Europe." Another hooligan, known as Denis and the leader of the "Orel Butchers" group that was at the center of the Marseille violence, said that "tactics honed domestically had given them the upper hand over England fans" at Euro 2016. He said, "There is some street-fight tactics that we obviously exercised a lot of times fighting in cities" (
LONDON TIMES, 2/16). In London, Nick Ames reported Denis said that England fans will "inevitably be subjected to violence again if they travel to Russia next June." He said, "They can come over and we’ll see. Somebody will obviously try to do something, that is like 100 percent -- 100 percent guaranteed." The "advice given by Denis to any potential visitors" was to "have a family and children around you or something ... if you are there with your male friend you should calculate on getting your arse kicked" (
GUARDIAN, 2/15).
INFANTINO 'NOT CONCERNED': The BBC reported FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that he is "not at all concerned" by the threat of hooliganism at next year's World Cup in Russia. Infantino said that he has "full confidence" in the Russian authorities to "combat any trouble next summer," adding they are taking the matter "very seriously." He added that World Cup organizers were "already putting in place plans to prevent any trouble" and would "learn" from the problems at Euro 2016 (BBC, 2/16).
