Russia's soccer hooligans.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_01.jpg[/img]
Fervent Fan Base
Sixteen teams compete in Russia's top professional league. This year's championship, played in May, pit Anzhi Mahachkala against Spartak Moscow, one of several teams based in the capital.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_02.jpg[/img]
Fired Up
Like their European counterparts, Russian soccer fans cheer their sides with an enthusiasm that borders on aggressive abandon. In this photo, fans attending a November match between Rubin Kazan and Spartak Moscow set off flares in the stands

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_03.jpg[/img]
Clashes
Often fueled by alcohol, the fans frequently clash with rivals and the police. Riot officers were called in to quell this disturbance at a March 2009 match between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Spartak Moscow.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_04.jpg[/img]
National Side
The fanaticism for the club teams carries over to the national team, whose failures in international tournaments have triggered massive riots in the past, most infamously in 2002, when Russia's loss to Japan in an early World Cup match drove angry fans into the streets of Moscow, above, where they set fire to cars, smashed store windows and attacked a group of Japanese musicians. Two people died in the melee.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_05.jpg[/img]
One of Their Own
Earlier this month, the killing of a Spartak Moscow fan, Yegor Sviridov, 28, inspired thousands of the team's supporters to take to the streets again. Sviridov (that's his portrait in the hands of one of the marchers, above) was killed in a brawl with a group of young men from the North Caucasus, a region whose ethnic groups have historically clashed with Russia and Russians. The authorities failure (in the minds of the fans) to arrest all those concerned prompted a massive rally and protest.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_06.jpg[/img]
The Anger Spreads
The rally in honor of Sviridov reached the heart of Moscow, where approximately 1000 protesters gathered in the shadow of the Kremlin, chanting slogans like "Russia for Russians." A number of the participants threw up the Nazi salute.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_07.jpg[/img]
Maintaining Order
As the rally in honor of Svidorov grew more violent, riot police attempted to break things up.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_08.jpg[/img]
Bloodied
More than 60 people were arrested in the clashes.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_09.jpg[/img]
Flares
The violence does not bode well for FIFA, soccer's governing body, which, only two weeks prior to the riots, chose Russia as host for the 2018 World Cup.

[cinderella man]

[img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/russia_soccer/russia_soccer_10.jpg[/img]
Unbowed
Though the protesters angry over Svidorov's murder quickly dispersed, their fury continued to spread through Moscow during the following days, as the police reported a wave of beatings and stabbings of people from the Caucasus or Central Asia around the city.

[hpwebcam]

*=: *=: *=:

[Akhil -]

vammo intha violentaaa item gallu...

[cinderella man]

[quote author=Akhil - link=topic=138138.msg1557619#msg1557619 date=1293727931]
vammo intha violentaaa item gallu...
[/quote]

english foot ball fans kooda intha kante violent ga undevallu...liverpool incident tharuvatha change ayyaru...

[man for the society]

[quote author=cinderella man link=topic=138138.msg1557628#msg1557628 date=1293728031]
english foot ball fans kooda intha kante violent ga undevallu...liverpool incident tharuvatha change ayyaru...
[/quote]

as far as i know once manchester united vs rangers match tarvatha baga godavalu ayyayi anta

[Akhil -]

[quote author=cinderella man link=topic=138138.msg1557628#msg1557628 date=1293728031]
english foot ball fans kooda intha kante violent ga undevallu...liverpool incident tharuvatha change ayyaru...
[/quote]
liverpool incident enti mama???  sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink sCo_hmmthink