U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson calls on the Russian government to protect English fans at the World Cup this summer.getty images
Fears for the security of England supporters at the World Cup this summer "are mounting" after Russia reportedly "expelled a key officer responsible for the safety of British fans," according to Crafton & Mokbel of the London DAILY MAIL. Amid "rising safety concerns," U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson revealed that ticket applications by British fans are 75% lower "compared to the same stage ahead of the World Cup in Brazil." The Foreign Office "took aim at the Russians" for making safety plans "more challenging" and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime to "take steps to help English fans." A boycott by the team is "looking highly improbable" but the "gaze now turns to the security of those English fans who take the plunge and follow the national team to the World Cup." The FA discussions with the Foreign Office are ongoing. Johnson stated his concern that the British diplomat responsible for liaising with British fans "had been sent back" to the U.K. as part of a Russian "retaliatory act" after U.K. PM Theresa May sanctioned the dismissal of 23 Russian diplomats (DAILY MAIL, 3/21).
'POISONED WITH HATRED': The BBC reported Johnson has likened the way Putin is promoting the World Cup in Russia to Hitler's "notorious use of the 1936 Berlin Olympics." The foreign secretary said that Labour MP Ian Austin was "completely right" to say Russia's president wanted to "gloss over [his] brutal corrupt regime." Johnson said that he would have an "urgent conversation" with Russia about the safety of fans at the tournament. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that he was "poisoned with hatred." However, when Austin said that he believed the football team "should pull out of the competition," Johnson disagreed. Johnson said, "On balance, it would be wrong to punish them [the fans] or the team who have worked on this for an incredibly long time, given up their lives to it" (BBC, 3/21).
THE BEST RESPONSE: In London, Matthew Weaver reported U.K. Culture, Media & Sport Secretary Matt Hancock said that the "best way to respond to the poisoning of a Russian double agent in Salisbury would be for England to win the World Cup final in Moscow." Hancock was asked by ITV’s Good Morning Britain "whether Britain should boycott the tournament" over government claims that the Kremlin was behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. He said, "Actually, the best response, frankly, to all of this would be for England to go to the World Cup in Russia and win it. If we won it, we would be demonstrating that we have got the best football team in the world and it should be about that" (GUARDIAN, 3/22).
KEEPING SPIES OUT: In London, Duncan Wright reported England requested a "giant fence be erected" around its World Cup training base to "keep out spies from rival sides." England Manager Gareth Southgate chose a remote training base north of St. Petersburg for the Three Lions' HQ in Russia this summer. But despite the fact the settlement of Repino is "one of the quieter venues being used by the teams," the FA is "keen to ensure privacy." The FA asked if it can build a 20-foot "screen around the site to ensure no one can see inside" (THE SUN, 3/22).
