Russian to hide all evil

FOR both its football and organisation that was undoubtedly one of the best World Cups ever.

But those of us who travelled would be naive to come home thinking Putin’s Russia is an open, tolerant, democracy far removed from the perceived image of a repressive dictatorship.

Yes, all fans could get a Fan ID visa by buying a ticket for a game, but they still had to register with the police in every city they visited.

Yes, there were no reported incidents of organised violence but Russia’s hooligans had been threatened with menaces to go underground for a month.

Yes, there was little racism inside the grounds but after the final a writer for a top tabloid claimed that all patriotic Russians should have supported Croatia because they didn’t have any black players whereas “migrants have captured France”.

And most sobering of all, at half-time in the England-croatia semi-final this email was sent by the Syrian Network for Human Rights which pointed out: “The state that is hosting the World Cup has killed

6,187 civilians, including 1,771 children and 670 women since its intervention started in Syria.

“Those victims are recorded in SNHR’S database with details including place, time, and pictures.”

Great World Cup, great people, but a month’s football can’t wipe out the fact that the people who run Russia are still nasty pieces of work.