Hooliganism has been a prominent issue in the world of football for many decades and a Russian politician has suggested legalising hooliganism and making it a sport of its own.
The proposal was made by Igor Lebedev, a representative of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, on his party’s website. According to Lebedev, the sport would include 20 unarmed fighters on each side and would happen in an arena.
In a statement on the LDPR’s website, Lebedev claims transforming football hooliganism into a sport “could turn fans’ aggression in a peaceful direction”. The statement also reads “Russia would be a pioneer in a new sport”.
Football hooliganism took centre stage in Marseille last summer at Euro 2016, with violent clashes occurring between Russian and English supporters. Following such conflicts between fans last year, Lebedev said he “did not see anything terrible about fans fighting”.
Next year’s World Cup is set to take place in Russia and if Lebedev’s proposal to legalise football hooliganism becomes popular, it will be a very interesting event.