BHARGAB SARMAH

MOSCOW: When Russia played England at the 2016 European Championship in a group game in Marseille, there was more action off the pitch than on it. Almost.

Russian football hooligans, with portable cameras strapped to their heads, attacked English fans ahead of the game, leading to chaos on the streets of Marseille. Around 150 Russian hooligans charged at them again after the match at the Stade Velodrome, leaving two England fans in a coma.

UEFA, Europe’s apex football body, handed Russia a suspended disqualification from the tournament along with a fine, while 50 perpetrators were deported.

The incidents in Marseille led to widespread fear over the World Cup that begins here on Thursday. The hooligans’ attack on a far larger group of English fans in Marseille was done with almost military-like precision. With many of them sporting Mixed Martial Arts gloves, their planned, coordinated attack made it clear that they were welltrained, as was described by Marseille chief prosecutor Brice Robin.

In 2017, the BBC released a documentary titled ‘Russia’s Hooligan Army’. The documentary, which showed a group of hooligans threatening violence against visiting fans, further deepened the sense of fear among fans in England. Coverage by other English and American media outlets hasn’t been any kinder.

However, in Russia, the film was met with widespread anger. The BBC was accused by Russian fans and the media of portraying one side of the story and