MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― Russia’s World Cup organizers are hoping that new laws will help to prevent disorderly fans from marring the tournament in 2018.
World Cup director Alexander Djordjadze told the SoccerEx conference in Manchester on Thursday that with “extreme ultra behavior in the stands” remaining a “big concern for the entire football family in Russia,” the tough new sanctions should act as a deterrent for troublemakers.
A “Fans’ Law,” which started progressing through the Russian parliament this week, sets out how violent fans would be banned from matches for one to six months, as well as being fined.
Fans convicted of bad behavior that leads to matches being disrupted will also face a jail term and a one-year suspension.
Djordjadze wants matches in Russia to be more family-friendly rather than a “battle ground between two clubs.”
“We believe the World Cup itself, by generating, creating new venues ― safe beautiful venues ― we will be able to change the fan culture completely,” Djordjadze said. “Turning it into a family experience rather than a hooligan experience.”
Violence at football matches as well as hooliganism off the field have been problems in Russia for years, but authorities have not been able to curb either.
“(The law) is just the first step of course in the process ... We will launch a series of educational programs with the support of FIFA,” Djordjadze said.
“But the matter itself is very serious and we are very pleased the government is taking such serious, dramatic steps to eradicate this.”
A Russian league game between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg was called off last year after the Dynamo goalkeeper was injured by a firecracker thrown from the Zenit stands.
At the 2012 European Championship, clashes broke out before Russia’s match against Poland in Warsaw as thousands of Russian fans marched to the stadium waving national flags and chanting “Russia, Russia” -- provoking the Poles.