A Russian politician "proposed an unorthodox solution to the country’s problems with football hooliganism" before hosting the World Cup next year -- legalize it and "make it a spectator sport," according to the AP. Organized groups of Russian fans "sought English supporters on the streets of Marseille" during Euro 2016. That inspired Igor Lebedev, who sits in the Russian parliament, to draw up rules for what he calls "draka" -- the Russian word for fight -- with 20 unarmed fighters on each side in an arena. In a statement on the website of the nationalist LDPR party, Lebedev said that organized brawls "could turn fans’ aggression in a peaceful direction." He also claimed it would serve as an "example" for English fans, who he characterized as "undisciplined louts and poor fighters." Lebedev, who "also suggested fights between different fan groups could draw crowds of thousands," said, "Russia would be a pioneer in a new sport. English fans arrive, for example, and start picking fights. And they get the answer -- challenge accepted. A meeting in a stadium at a set time." Some fan groups in Russia "already hold illicit fights along similar lines, typically pre-arranged mass brawls in rural locations, away from police." It is "not the first time Lebedev has courted controversy." He "hailed the violence" in Marseille last year, telling Russian fans, "Well done lads, keep it up!" (AP, 3/5).
