A fan blacklisted by Russian authorities for bad behavior was granted a document allowing him to attend World Cup matches, while several other fans have skirted a stadium ban, Reuters has found.
Russia has vowed to crack down on crowd unrest and to weed out troublemakers by screening fans.
However, documents show that Pavel Cherkas, a 32-year-old fan who was blacklisted last year for being drunk at a match, applied for and received a World Cup fan ID after the ban had taken effect.
Cherkas, who has attended matches despite being banned, showed reporters his World Cup fan ID, a document that proves he has been approved by Russian authorities.
After reporters asked the Russian Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, which oversees the ID program, how a blacklisted fan was cleared to attend, Cherkas was informed that his ID had been revoked, without explanation.
The ministry said that an ID can be canceled to ensure security or public order, or if it receives information about violations by spectators at events in or outside Russia.
Fans say authorities have cracked down on hooligans and violence is less prevalent, but Russia still wants to show it is taking action and has launched a fan blacklist of more than 400 names, although few violent cases.
However, Reuters has found that authorities have not been systematically enforcing the list.
“I’m not saying the government is wrong in banning fans, but if they do, they should do so effectively,” Cherkas said.
Reuters did not find other cases of blacklisted fans obtaining fan IDs and could not establish how widespread the problem was. Another blacklisted fan said his ID application had been rejected.
The dates on Cherkas’ ban were amended this month in what the government told him was a mix-up with another fan. His ban, which was to expire during the World Cup, is now listed as lasting until May 21.
Nine blacklisted fans, including Cherkas, said they had regularly skirted the ban.
Two reporters witnessed a blacklisted fan enter Moscow’s Spartak Stadium for a Russian Cup match last month. With a ticket bearing his name in hand, the man in his mid-20s wearing a black beanie made his way into the venue unobstructed.
The reporters remained with the fan, banned from attending sporting events last year for having lit a flare at a Russian Premier League match, throughout the match and left the stadium at the same time. He was not approached by stadium or security officials, nor was the name on his ticket checked.
At the stadium, he flipped through photographs on his cellphone of sporting events he had attended while banned, including Russian Premier League matches, an international soccer friendly and a match at last year’s Fed Cup.
Although the authorities have not been rigorously enforcing the list, they have taken some steps against hooliganism.
Police visit some fans known to authorities, even though they are not officially banned. Some have been asked to promise not to disrupt the World Cup.
However, the blacklisted fans are not Russia’s most violent.
More than a third were included for lighting flares, smoke bombs or firecrackers, or attempting to do so. Another 20 percent were banned for public drunkenness. One was blacklisted for kicking another fan.
Loopholes in the blacklist law make it hard to enforce.
Although meant to keep problematic fans out of stadiums, the law does not outline the events where identification is mandatory. In any case, few events require identification.
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