Scrums, mauls and rucks and an oddly shaped soccer ball? To police in southern Russia, this rugby match sure looked like a mass brawl.
Police responding to a report of a large group of men fighting on Sunday evening found dozens of cars and people gathered in an empty field on the outskirts of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and what appeared to be a fight between criminal gang members.
More than 70 officers detained about 100 people before determining they were playing rugby instead of brawling, and released them several hours later after scolding them for not alerting authorities ahead of time.
"Given the difficult, troubled situation in the region, at a time when counterterrorism actions are being actively conducted, citizens are obligated to inform [authorities] either verbally or in writing of their intentions," said a precinct police officer, who was not authorized to speak to the media and so did not want his name to be used. "Then there wouldn't be such an unpleasant situation."
The southern Russian region is adjacent to the troubled North Caucasus, where violence from Chechnya regularly spills into nearby areas.
Organizers denied doing anything wrong, and said police arrested them in spite of their repeated explanations that they were playing a game. Amateur rugby players in the region have no regular place to play, they said, so they gather about a half-dozen times a year wherever they can.
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