By Mark Baber and Andrew Warshaw
April 11 – The Russian Duma has passed a new bill banning violent and abusive fans from stadiums with 226 votes for and just one abstention. The bill will now go to the Federation Council, before being signed off by President Vladimir Putin.
The proposed legislation stipulates violent fans would receive a fine of $32 and one to six months suspension. If the behaviour led to the disruption of play, the penalty would increase to $64 and could include up to 15 days in jail along with a one-year suspension. Failing to abide by the ban could lead to a fine of up to $160 or 15 days in jail.
The bill, designed to ensure public safety at Russian sports events, will help the country’s image when it stages the 2018 World Cup, according to organisers.
“Hooliganism is a big concern in Russia and I’m really pleased the so-called Fans Law has been passed to deal with such extreme behaviour,” Alexander Djordjadze, deputy ceo of Russia’s World Cup organising committee, speaking at the Soccerex conference in Manchester today. “It envisages serious punishments but is the just the first step in the process. We are not law enforcers as an organising committee but we are very pleased such steps are being taken to eradicate this evil.”
All-Russia Fans’ Union president Alexander Shprygin said: “From the point of view of the fans, we were afraid that (the bill) would be draconian, but those moves are not present.”
In contrast, Denis Rogachyov, deputy CEO of the Russian Football Union, for legal issues argued the penalties were too lenient.
Russian Football Union president Vyacheslav Koloskov also welcomed the legislation but warned that, “from passing the bill to implementing the idea, there’s a long, long way to go. How long this takes depends on the coordinated work of all organisations involved in the competitions.”
Politicians say the aim of the bill is to usher in a family-friendly atmosphere at grounds. In November, a game between Zenit St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moscow was abandoned after a firework thrown from the stands injured a player. That was one of 14,000 offenses committed at Russian sporting events over the last three years, according to deputy sports minister Natalia Parshikova. Russian hooligan behaviour is often highly ritualised with violence kept within strict rules such as no use of weapons and equal numbers of participants on each side.
The most controversial aspect of the new bill has been the provision requiring the presentation of ID at the point of buying tickets to sports events, but the proposed penalties for misbehaviour by fans are certainly less draconian than in other countries.
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