"I am not concerned about trouble in 2018, I have full confidence in the Russian authorities," Infantino told a small group of reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Doha.
On June 11, 2016 the Russian national football team played to a draw against England at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille during the UEFA Euro 2016.
After the match, clashes between dozens of Russian and English fans erupted at the stadium. Later, two Russian nationals were detained after scuffles between Russian and English fans at and outside the stadium.
Commenting on an article in London’s Guardian, titled “Russian Hooligans Warn England Fans of ‘Festival of Violence’ at World Cup 2018,” ex-leader of
Spartak Moscow FC’s fan club Vasily Stepanov, better known as Vasya the Killer, and described as one of the fans allegedly preparing riots during next year’s World Cup, said that he had actually promised a warm welcome for the event’s guests.
“All I said during my interview with BBC2 is that Russia welcomes its guests with bread and salt. It was in November, 2016,” Stepanov told LifeNews.
He added that he had also spoken out about last year’s riots in Marseille where Russian fans were provoked by their English “friends.”
“They [the British] acted like pigs, they insulted us, we had to respond and the media then raised hell blowing the whole thing out of proportion,” Stepanov said.
He added that the BBC2 journalists took his words “out of context” as part of what he described as the mainstream media’s vicious anti-Russian campaign.
It shows, among others, Vasya the Killer, head of the Gladiators firm of Spartak Moscow supporters and a figure who also allegedly helped organize last year’s violence during an UEFA Euro 2016 game in Marseille, saying that hooliganism had given him “principles and courage” along with “this feeling you are on top of Everest and can do anything.”
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