Labour’s shadow sport minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan has demanded that “English fans’ safety must be our top priority at the World Cup”, fearing a repeat of the violence between Russian and England supporters at Euro 2016.
About 10,000 England fans are expected to travel to Russia for the tournament next month, yet many politicians are worried that the proper precautions are not in place to prevent recurrences of extreme hooliganism.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Allin-Khan said: “At the European Championships in 2016 Russian hooligans showed themselves to be organised, well armed and extremely violent.
“British and English fans’ safety must be our top priority at the World Cup.
“Can the Secretary of State confirm if the British diplomat responsible for fan safety at the World Cup was expelled by Russia and if so how can the Government even comprehend relying on Russian reassurances that our fans will be safe?”
Relations between London and Moscow have deteriorated following the British government’s claims that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.
In response to the poisoning of the former spy, the UK government expelled 23 Russian diplomats, the single biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats in more than 30 years. Russia’s Foreign Ministry ordered the expulsion of 23 British diplomats on March 17 from Russia in a tit-for-tat response, despite the Kremlin denying any involvement in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter.
This diplomatic dispute means that England currently have no representatives in the host country to guarantee the safety of travelling fans, despite Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko promising that all is under control. The lack of English administration to oversee fan security procedures is making many fans scared to go, some even cancelling the trip altogether.
“All of the necessary measures are being taken,” said Yakovenko, speaking at a press conference at the Russian embassy in London on March 23.
“The British special authorities are in contact with the Russian special authorities to provide the security of fans and all the British who will be in the territory of Russia.”
Tensions between the two countries were ratcheted up another notch earlier this month however, when British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson compared Russia’s promotion of the World Cup to Adolf Hitler’s use of the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
During a meeting of Britain’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Johnson agreed with a lawmaker’s suggestion that Russian President Vladimir Putin intended to use the World Cup as a “PR exercise” to gloss over a “brutal, corrupt regime” in the same way that Hitler used the Olympics as part of the propaganda for his Nazi regime.
“I think the comparison with 1936 is certainly right,” Johnson said. “I think it’s an emetic prospect, frankly, to think of Putin glorying in this sporting event.”
Britain’s Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to Britons visiting Russia, warning of the “possibility of anti-British sentiment or harassment” due to “heightened political tensions.”
In spite of the political feud, Johnson does however believe Russia are doing everything in their power to ensure the safety of all fans, as their honour and reputation is on the line.
“It is up to the Russians, it is on their honour to guarantee the safety not just of British fans but of fans from around the world,” said the Foreign Secretary.
The Foreign Affairs Committee also heard last week that Russian authorities have a “blacklist” of known hooligans and have banned anyone responsible for trouble at Euro 2016 from attending.
If anyone is planning on making the trip to Russia this summer, they are encouraged to read the government’s advice.
