England fans shun the World Cup in fear of Russian thugs
“If they feel provoked they react with something physical.
“This would also be seen as legitimate in the eyes of the authorities. The rhetoric is ‘come as a guest, behave as a guest’.”
England fans clashed with farRight Russian hooligans in Marseille during the European Championships in 2016, sparking fears of a repeat this summer.
Fifa revealed just 34,000 tickets have been allocated to English fans for the tournament in Russia so far – down from 58,690 tickets for the last World Cup, in Brazil in 2014.
Numbers are also down on South Africa in 2010, when 72,000 bought tickets and Germany in 2006, when 83,000 travelled.
More than two million tickets have been sold overall, with the majority going to Russian fans who have been allocated 872,578.
England fans’ appetite for can the World Cup ranks 10th among nations outside Russia, with the USA, Brazil and Colombia making up the top three.
The Football Association said 1,510 members of its official England Supporters Travel Club have tickets for the opening game against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18. It said at least 1,800 will travel to Nizhny Novgorod for the Panama on June 24.
Only one of England’s group games was oversubscribed, with 2,659 tickets sold through the FA for the potential Group G decider against Belgium in Kaliningrad on June 28.
Some have bought tickets in the hope that England will make it to game against the knockout rounds – including 1,415 for the round of 16, 1,608 for the quarter-final, 2,180 for the semifinal and 3,553 for the final in Moscow on July 15.
Meanwhile, fans have been advised to buy pay-as-you-go phones amid fears that authorities could hack devices and steal personal data.
The National Cyber Security Centre warned: “Public and hotel wi-fi connections may not be safe. Carefully consider what information you might be sharing when using them.
“Keep your devices with you rather than leave them unattended.
“Hotel rooms, safes and lockers are not always secure because other people may have access codes or keys.”