By ABE HAWKEN FOR MAILONLINE From Daily Mail UK

 

• Some 391 Russian thugs were banned from attending matches in their country
• But 204 of the hooligans will see their bans expire before the tournament starts
• The ultras will be able to attend matches after an apparent government blunder 
• It comes after hundreds of England fans were attacked in Marseille at Euro 2016 

 

Hundreds of notorious Russian football hooligans will be free to attack travelling England supporters at next year’s World Cup.

Some 391 Russian football thugs were banned from attending matches following incidents before or after games in their country.

But they will now be able to attend matches next summer after a government blunder means their banning orders will expire before the first game on June 14.

The announcement comes after 14 England fans were hospitalised after they were attacked by Russian fans in Marseille during their Euro 2016 match in June.

According to The Sun, 204 of the 391 hooligans who were barred from attending matches will be able to go to the whole tournament.

A further 10 will see their restrictions removed just days later and will be allowed to attend matches in the later stages of the World Cup.

A Moscow-based source told the newspaper: ‘The hooligans were given bans deemed to match their offences.

‘But authorities don’t seem to have considered Russia’s hosting the World Cup and they’ll be free to go to games. It’s not deliberate, it seems an oversight.’

According to the newspaper, those who will be able to attend the games include Andrei Volkov, 23, who was banned after a flare ignited on a train.

He could be joined by 22-year-old Maskim Tauran, who was banned after he launched a blazing shirt into a stand in a stadium.

In March, Russian ultras warned England supporters they could be killed if violence breaks out during the competition next year.

Two England fans were left in a coma after the ugly scenes in the South of France earlier this year and Russian fans have promised a repeat of the violence.

President Vladimir Putin has said that the World Cup will be safe for all fans.

However, one thug, who leads Zenit St Petersburg’s Landscrona mob, warned: ‘You think it was bad in France – wait until Russia.’

Anne Gray’s 48-year-old son Stewart, an engineer, was attacked in Marseille and was left suffering with brain damage.

She has urged England fans to stay at home next summer and her son, who supports Leicester City, was left in a coma.

The 73-year-old told the newspaper: ‘I’ve no faith in the Russian authorities being able to keep foreign fans safe.

‘My advice is not to go – the hooligans are out of control. No England fan will be safe there. If people think it can’t happen to them, they’re wrong.’

MailOnline has contacted the Russian Embassy for comment.

IMAGE:Russian hooligans featured in a BBC documentary which aired earlier this month – just months after the violence in Marseille BBC

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