The number of crimes committed by football fans at Russian stadiums has risen in the past year, the country's top public order policeman said Thursday.
This year has seen brawls at several Russian Premier League games, as well as a highly publicized case of fans from southern Caucasus provinces being racially abused by supporters of Moscow clubs at a Europa League match last week.
“This year there is a rising tendency in the number of administrative violations committed in stadiums or in their vicinity,” Yuri Demidov said.
He added that 2,500 people had been held for misdemeanors so far this year but did not provide a comparable figure for the same period of last year.
Increases have also been seen in the number of fans arrested for possessing or using flares and other forbidden objects at stadiums, Demidov said, although he did not specify how great the rise was.
