Russian thugs give chilling reminder of what England fans could face at next year’s World Cup finals
As a new agency - Visit Russia UK - looks to dispel fears over violence, members of the Orel Butchers reminisce over horror of Euro 2016
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RUSSIAN thugs who caused mass violence at Euro 2016 have warned English fans what to expect at the 2018 World Cup.
And the grim message from the Orel Butchers doesn't make for happy reading.
The Russian hooligans, claimed to be service personnel dressed in plain clothes, caused mayhem before England's game with Russia in Marseille in June last year.
The football gang, or firm, are part of a new generation of Russians who spend hours in the gym and travel to fight clubs in remote forests to hone their combat skills.
They were blamed for injuring more than 100 English fans and a number of them have spoken to , prompting fears about what will happen next summer.
Warned one thug: “When we are being good no one remembers us, when we are bad no one forgets us.”
Another revealed: “We were determined to go down and mess up with the British guys. It’s like 200 professionals fighting 2,000 amateurs. "
His mate also reflected on the battle of Marseille - and gave a deep insight into the provocation England supporters can expect at the World Cup.
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He said: “There were a lot of English in every pub. Despite the fact they had a much greater majority you could say that we showed them their place.
"We wanted to be like British hooligans. British fans were always an inspiration. And that model of being a fan is what we looked up to.
"When English fans came to Moscow it was always an honour to clash with them. We copied their way of dressing and their way of behaving., their actions because we hold them in great respect.”
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Uefa threatened to throw both England and Russia out of Euro 2016, while Russia’s governing body called on their fans to “obey the law” and “respect the opponents and their fans”.
But Russian president Vladamir Putin apparently poked fun at Three Lions' fans as he questioned how 200 Russian supporters were able to beat up “several thousand” England followers.
Now, in a bid to reassure England followers they will be safe when the World Cup kicks-off next June, Visit Russia UK has been set up in London.
A spokesman told the BBC: “Travelling to Russia is safe and we have a very good example of the Confederations Cup this year when we had fans from eight countries and there were no single incidents.
“All the fans were safe and we hope we will be able to explain this to English fans.
"They will be protected by the authorities. People who were fighting in France were prosecuted, there were many criminal cases raised.
"There is no approval from the government for any fighting against football fans whether it is British or any other country’s fans.
“Also I know that looking at the videos I know there were lots of abusive words by the British fans.
"I think the Russians can speak good English and when they are abusive it might be that they feel they can say something back.”
Pressed to reveal exactly how English fans will be protected, the spokesman added:
“First of all there was a rehearsal of the World Cup in 2017 at the Confederations Cup, lots of money was invested in security.
“Fan ID was introduced as an extra level of security for those going to the stadium.
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"This ID will give football fans an opportunity to enter Russia without a visa which will save them some money and it will allow them to travel free on trains.
“The security will be at the high level because a lot of money is invested in security. There will be football fan zones in the cities where the security provided will be at a very high level again."
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