Russian hooligans targeted in crackdown

M O S C O W • At their peak, Russian hooligans felt like gods.

“We’re on Mount Olympus right now and it had to be done,” is how one veteran hooligan from Moscow recounts his part in brawls with English fans at the 2016 European Championship. “We went for the English, who were kings, to knock them off their throne.”

But 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, the Moscow hooligan — a large, muscular man with scars on his knuckles — told The Associated Press. He likened their situation to that of “hostages” and said the hooligan scene in Russia “is finished.”

“All the leaders get called in for chats,” he said, imitating an officer: ‘On behalf of our state security service, I’ll explain that if there are problems, then those guys are in prison and you’ll be joining them. We need everything to go quietly.’ It’s been done precisely so that everyone understands that even if there’s no case against you, your guys will get it in your place.’ ”

Speaking on condition of anonymity to describe numerous illegal acts, he said he travelled to Marseille in 2016 specifically to take part in fights with the English at the European Championships.

The violence on Marseille’s streets and in the stadium was greeted with jokes and even praise from some Russian lawmakers and officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the fighting “sad,” then questioned “how 200 Russian fans could beat up several thousand English,” to laughter from his audience.

Oleg Semyonov, formerly a leader of the Spartak Moscow fan scene who now runs a legal advice hotline for supporters, lamented the end of hooliganism’s golden era.

“You have to put people at different subway stations to find where they’re going to be, where the enemy is gathering, get there first and beat them up,” he said. “It’s not just a matter of numbers. It’s always a game and back then it was the best.”