[Seeker8]

A Russian politician has proposed legalising football hooliganism and turning it into a sport.

Igor Lebedev has drawn up rules for "draka" - the Russian word for fight - which he said would involve 20 unarmed competitors on each side in an organised brawl.

Groups of Russia fans were deported from France after repeated scenes of violence at Euro 2016.

Russia will host the next World Cup in summer 2018.

Lebedev, who represents the opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, is also on the board of the Russian Football Union.

He published the proposal on his party's website, stating: "Russia would be a pioneer in a new sport. Fans arrive, for example, and start picking fights. And they get the answer - challenge accepted. A meeting in a stadium at a set time.''

Following clashes between his country's fans and England supporters at Euro 2016, Lebedev said he "did not see anything terrible about fans fighting".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39172314

I suppose it would protect innocents from getting caught up in brawls. Why not?

[Political Interest]

I think this is a wonderful idea. Young men love to fight, why not allow them to do it in a controlled environment?

I have often thought that there should be a legally sanctioned form of fighting.

[Balancer]

Young men love to fight, why not allow them to do it in a controlled environment?

In Russia such fights have very deep roots, almost in 1000 age.

Stenka na Stenku ("wall-on-wall") – Russian fist fighting (Russian – Кулачный бой Kulachniy boy “fist fighting, pugilism) is the traditional bare-knuckle boxing of Russia.

The earliest accounts concerning the sport date to the 13th century. Supposedly, fist fighting was practiced even prior to the Christianization of Kievan Rus’, at celebrations dedicated to Perun.

Metropholite Kiril, in 1274, created another one of many personally-instituted rules, declaring expulsion from Christianity for any of those who fist-fight and do not sing a prayer or hymn at the burial of someone who died during a fist fight. The government itself never supported, but also never opposed fist fighting.

http://www.slavorum.org/stenka-na-stenk ... -fighting/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_boxing

It was very developed and mass tradition. But it remained in the pre-revolutionary past And in this case the statement of the deputy — is simple a frichestvo. At us many politicians in the State Duma talk utter nonsense.

[Decky]

I wish our warriors got this kind of government support. Instead the government steals the passports from convicted football hooligans during major competitions so they can't go to international competitions. Our forces are left with their best men languishing at home and this perform far more badly than they used to compared the the Eurotrash hooligans.

[ness31]

Wow, I had no idea Russia was hosting the next World Cup. Those football players are gonna party like it's 1999 man..

[mikema63]

If they were just boxing it'd be fine. Fighting in the streets with the other teams fans and causing trouble and damage to property is not.

[Frollein]

I'm all for strong young men fighting to death in the Thunderdome. Of course, they should look more like Mad Max Gibson and less like Blaster.

[Bret Easton]

I'm not surprised about this. Last year at European Championships Putin blamed not 200 Russians but few thousand Englishmen.