Russia clamps down on football hooligans before World Cup

Roma, a Russian man in his early 30s, used to fight other hooligans almost every month, meeting in the woods for brawls that only ended when one side was unable to get up.

Not anymore. Now the Lokomotiv Moscow supporter is called into the police station almost every month as one of those blacklisted in a crackdown before the World Cup starts in Russia on Thursday. A member of the "Vikings" hooligan firm, he did not want to be fully identified for fear of further pressure from the authorities.

“At first people had plans, different teams are coming, they could test their strength against someone in a fight, but law enforcement organs quickly brought them down to earth,” Roma said, sitting on a…

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