USA TODAY US Edition

Russia also on stage in World Cup

Country’s reputation, tolerance a concern

- Martin Rogers

MOSCOW – An American political triumph featuring Donald Trump working quietly behind the scenes, with Canada and Mexico as allies, taking place on Russian soil and with the backing of Vladimir Putin?

Such a victory took place Wednesday as the United Bid, a three-pronged campaign led by the United States, won the right to host soccer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Russia, whose soccer federation has close ties to Putin’s regime, was one of the nations that voted in favor as the United Bid saw off its only challenger, Morocco.

The 2018 World Cup kicks off here Thursday, beginning a five-week celebratio­n filled with elite competitio­n on the field and concern for intoleranc­e in the stands and streets.

Though no one knows who will emerge victorious July 16, one thing can

be taken to the bank: Russia has turned on the charm, all the way from Putin down.

“We’ve done everything to ensure our guests, sportsmen, experts and, of course, fans feel at home in Russia,” Putin said in a video, even threatenin­g for a moment to break into a smile.

Putin has no great love for soccer, but he understand­s the value of internatio­nal sporting events as exercises in propaganda. Putin approved the checks as Russia spent $50 billion to stage the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, saw his country top the medal table with the help of state-sponsored doping, then sent his troops in to annex the Crimea from Ukraine three days after the Olympic flame was extinguish­ed.

While catching heat internatio­nally for alleged interferen­ce in elections in the USA and elsewhere, support of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and the alleged poisoning of a former spy on British soil, Putin’s regime has put the finishing touches to a tournament that cost $11 billion.

Tuesday brought the first overt case of political muscle being wielded. Fortyeight hours before the World Cup’s opening game, Ramzan Kadyrov – the

“LGBT fans traveling to Russia face potential harassment from locals over public displays of affection. There is not widespread tolerance.”

Jonathon Keymer Travel risk expert

controvers­ial leader of Chechnya installed by Putin a decade ago – turned up at Egypt’s training session for a photo with Mohamed Salah, one of the top players in the tournament.

Amnesty Internatio­nal called the move by Kadyrov, whose Chechen regime has a brutal human rights record, a case of clear “sports-washing.”

Most of the FIFA members who voted for Russia to stage this World Cup when the election was held in 2010 have subsequent­ly been found culpable of corruption, yet despite calls for the removal of the tournament – which intensifie­d again when the Russian team was banned from this year’s Winter Olympics over its doping scandal – here it is, poised to begin.

Even Putin’s fiercest critics expect the tournament to go off with barely a hitch, not because Russia has fixed its problems but because its leader is hardline enough to quell resistance by whatever means necessary.

Russia enforces a law banning “gay propaganda” that has been interprete­d as an attack on the LGBT community. Supporters of the statute claim it protects the minds of children from corruption, but it has been denounced by human rights groups.

“LGBT fans traveling to Russia face potential harassment from locals over public displays of affection,” said Jonathon Keymer, a travel risk expert who monitors Russia for iJet Internatio­nal. “There is not widespread tolerance.”

The intoleranc­e extends to racism. Russia’s soccer authoritie­s were sanctioned after black players from France were targeted with racist chanting during a game in St. Petersburg in March.

Soccer players drawn to the lucrative Russian Premier League have been targeted – Brazilians Hulk and Roberto Carlos and the Republic of Congo’s Christophe­r Samba were on the receiving end of abuse.

The World Cup anti-racism inspector, former Russian national team player Alexei Smertin, said he believes there will be no racist incidents over the next month. “In Russia, people know what hospitalit­y and respect are,” said Smertin, who claimed in 2015 that there was “no racism in Russia.”

Russia has become one of the primary centers for soccer hooliganis­m. Russian supporters were involved in bloody skirmishes with rival fans, including an incident with English followers at the 2016 European Championsh­ips in France. Several Russian politician­s voiced their support for the thugs for defending Russia’s honor.

The Kremlin has little appetite for seeing such scenes on Russian soil over the coming weeks, and spectators are required to carry “FAN-ID” documentat­ion in an effort to keep soccer gangs away.

Putin drafted his ferocious Cossack militia enforcers to patrol Moscow in a bid to avoid unrest.

Whether the show of force is designed to scare or reassure fans is unsure, but American visitors are here in large numbers, along with soccerphil­es from around the globe. FIFA confirmed that as of Tuesday, the USA had the highest number of tournament ticket sales (nearly 90,000) of any country apart from Russia.

Stephen Gallagher, 43, who traveled to Moscow from his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, said he was undeterred by Russia’s reputation.

“There are always reasons not to come, but I wasn’t going to let what’s in the news stop me,” Gallagher said. “I am not here to support Putin, I am supporting soccer.”

 ?? ROMAN PILPEY/EPA-EFE ?? The World Cup is set to begin Thursday when the host country, Russia, faces Saudi Arabia.
ROMAN PILPEY/EPA-EFE The World Cup is set to begin Thursday when the host country, Russia, faces Saudi Arabia.

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