Soccer-Russian hooligans see themselves as Kremlin foot soldiers
MOSCOW, June 13 Ultra-nationalist and schooled in their country's historical grievances, Russian soccer hooligans see themselves as fighting the Kremlin's geopolitical battles in miniature when they clash with foreign fans at the Euro 2016 tournament.
"Our fans in Marseille are a copy of Russian foreign policy," Professor Sergei Medvedev from Moscow's Higher School of Economics, wrote on social media after Saturday's clashes around the England-Russia game in the French city of Marseille.
Describing the mentality of the Russian hooligans, he said: "'We won't win the championship but let's at least put on a brave face, beat some people up, and have the whole world talking about us'."
Not subject to the kind of travel bans imposed on English fans who have committed violence, Russian hooligans are free to travel if they have enough money and can get a Schengen visa giving them access to much of Europe.
They represent a strand of nationalism which has become more strident since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and state media ratcheted up its narrative that the West is enemy number one.
Their conduct in Marseille drew praise in some political circles where sport is seen as an extension of what the Kremlin casts as Russia's battle for influence on the world stage.
"I don't see anything terrible about fans fighting," Igor Lebedev, a nationalist who is a deputy speaker in the lower house of parliament and a member of the Russian Football Union's executive committee, wrote on social media on Monday.
"On the contrary our guys were great. Keep it up!"
French authorities said about 150 hard-core Russian fans took part in the violence in Marseille. Marseille's chief prosecutor said some of the Russians involved in the worst of the violence had been trained to fight.
European soccer's governing body, UEFA, has threatened to expel the Russian and English teams from the championship if the violence persists.
The Russian authorities, already embroiled in a sports doping scandal before the Rio Olympics, have appealed to fans not to do anything to endanger the country's ability to host the World Cup soccer finals in 2018.
HOOLIGAN 'FIRMS'
The Russian hooligans, who often refer to themselves as 'ultras', belong to an organised tradition of hooliganism which has its roots mainly around clubs in Moscow and St Petersburg. They belong to "firms" modelled on what they view as the 1970s heyday of English soccer fans' thuggery.
After Saturday's clashes, some posted photos of themselves on social media holding stolen English supporters' flags upside down -- some spotted with blood -- as trophies.
"So-called 'active fans' have their own European championships," said Komsomolskaya Pravda, a tabloid newspaper. "And in the alternative Euros the Russian team's fans are the clear favourites and will try to prove their supremacy."
Many are tattooed with nationalist and Orthodox Christian slogans. Some have links to white supremacist far-right groups and, at matches in Russia, have unfurled Nazi flags and taunted black players by throwing banana skins on to the pitch and making monkey sounds.
Although Russian authorities have banned the worst offenders from domestic stadiums, high-level political criticism of their behaviour has been rare.
Russian soccer fan sites were on Monday awash with praise for what they portrayed as a famous victory over soft English soccer hooligans in France.
"The complete victory of our hard core in Marseille," was how Spartak Moscow's Fratria fan club described the clashes, linking to a video of the violence.
"The stupid (Anglo-) Saxons," wrote a fan nicknamed Red Bear (RedMedved). "They saw 'barbaric' Russia face-to-face and all their courage evaporated and they ran away."
Some people saw the violence as part of Russia's geopolitical standoff with the West.
"Take my word for it. This is purely our symbolic reply to your sanctions and interference in our internal affairs in Ukraine," Valentin Polyakov, from the city of Rostov-on-Don, said of the Marseille violence on Komsomolskaya Pravda's site.
His view reflects Russian frustration -- fuelled by state media -- over Western sanctions on Russia over Moscow's role in Ukraine, where Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists are locked in a low-level conflict.
Russians supporters complained of what they called English "provocations" including rude songs about Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some state media reported how 250 Russian fans had managed to get the better of more than 1,000 England supporters.
Russian fans have a history of violence, including a rampage in Moscow in which cars were overturned and two people were killed after Japan beat their team in the 2002 World Cup.
They also rioted near the Kremlin in 2010 after a Spartak Moscow fan was shot dead in a fight with men from Russia's mainly Muslim North Caucasus area, brawling with riot police and attacking dark-skinned passers-by.
Trouble flared again at the Euro 2012 tournament hosted by Poland and Ukraine when Russian fans fought with Polish supporters and hurled racist abuse at a black player.
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Russians ready for 'ultra-violent' action involved in Euro 2016 clashes
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - Russian hooligans prepared for "ultra-rapid, ultra-violent action" were involved in the worst of the fighting that hit Marseille at the start of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, the French city's chief prosecutor said on Monday.
An Englishman in his 50s remained in a critical condition in hospital after he was assaulted, one of 35 people injured during three days of fighting involving Russian, English and French fans in Marseille's Vieux Port (Old Port).
European soccer's governing body, UEFA, said it was "disgusted" by melees inside and outside the stadium in Marseille - where the English and Russian sides played on Saturday - and has threatened to expel both teams from the championship if the violence persists.
"There were 150 Russian supporters who in reality were hooligans," Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin told a news conference. "These people were well prepared for ultra-rapid, ultra-violent action."
Scenes of rival fans wielding metal bars and hurling beer bottles in street clashes in Marseille, as well as incidents in Nice, Lille and Paris, underscore the challenge soccer federations in Europe face in stamping out hooliganism.
Further along the Mediterranean coast from Marseille, Nice's prosecutor said violence there involving Northern Irish fans on Saturday night was instigated by remnants of the now-disbanded French fan group known as the Nice Brigade that had ties with far-right circles.
England fans have said they were ambushed by squads of Russian assailants in at least one incident, though the Marseille prosecutor made clear that England supporters were responsible for some of the skirmishes in Marseille.
ENGLISH FANS JAILED
On Monday a Marseille court began hearing fast-track trials of 10 people held in police custody - six Britons, three French nationals and an Austrian. All were charged with violence involving a weapon, mostly against a law enforcement officers.
In the first cases to be heard, five England fans were sentenced to jail terms of between one and three months, while a Frenchman received a two-year term.
"I'm truly sorry. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I'm no hooligan," English cook Alexander Booth, 20, told the judge before his two-month sentence was read out.
After the weekend clashes, some Russians posted photos of themselves on social media holding stolen English supporters' flags upside down - some spotted with blood - as trophies. The hooligans, who often refer to themselves as 'ultras', belong to an organized tradition of hooliganism which has its roots mainly around clubs in Moscow and St Petersburg.
No Russians were arrested over the weekend, Robin acknowledged. Asked why not, the prosecutor said they had carried out lightning strikes which made arrests difficult and that closed-circuit television footage was still being studied. "These are highly trained people," Robin said.
Robin said some Russian supporters were turned back on arrival at Marseille international airport but that others had arrived overland.
French officials say 3,000 England soccer fans had been slapped with banning orders to block their travel to France due to previous offences, while only 30 Russian supporters were prevented from traveling.
A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said his government welcomed the UEFA investigation and that it was also vital to review crowd-control methods inside stadiums.
"Are there any lessons that the French authorities can learn from that for future games ... to look at where the teams' relevant supporters are and how to manage those issues at the end of the game," she told reporters.
Asked whether a complaint had been made about Russian fan behavior, she said: "We have raised our concerns."
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I included two articles because they are about different aspects of the events. I hope that's okay. Also, tag suggestions?