Menace to Europe ar e tip of the iceber g

gunman killed two people in Halle, Germany, near a synagogue. And even in countries that saw the Third Reich’s atrocities, the alt-right is winning fans.

It is short for alternative right – a twist on far-right white nationalism that tries to present the sick ideology as a respectable intellectual movement.

Prof Feldman said: “In the Cold War there was anti-fascist consensus. The common enemy was Russia. But after the 9/11 attack there was a lot of talk in the media about out Islam and the narrative began to change.

“Anti- Muslim lim prejudice grew. After events like the Rotherham scandal, the far-right ar-right built an ideology that all Muslims were rapists and paedophiles. iles. This enabled it to have a social ial media voice.” Michael Colborne, borne, a journalist and far-right expert in the

Balkans, says ys the fall of commummunism fuelled elled extremism in n places such as Bulgaria. aria.

He said: “It It was a chance for nation-building ilding in countries where nationalism nalism had been suppressed. That brought historical revisionism and anti- communism that downplayed the dangers of fascism.”

Six men were held after the vile scenes on the terraces in Bulgaria.

Their Nazi salutes were a shock to those who believed the type of hooliganism seen here decades ago was dead.

Yet fascist groups like Combat 18 here, Scandinavia’s Nordic Resistance, Golden Dawn in Greece and Germany’s Pegida have long- running links with football thugg thuggery.

Pavel Klymenko, Kly of Football Against Racism Ra in Europe, said many far- right yobs model themselves on old British groups that were the forerunners of the EDL ED – set up by convicted thug thu Tommy Robinson.

He said: “Fans are still mainly m white men. The culture seen in the UK decades ago seems to be recurring. The farright i s becoming trendy and this is reflected r in football.”