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Notorious far-right activist at Euro 2016 with Russian FA delegation
Source: The Guardian
Notorious far-right activist at Euro 2016 with Russian FA delegation
• Alexander Shprygin photographed giving a Nazi salute
• Shprygin considered a leading light in network of extreme-right ultra groups
Owen Gibson in Paris and Shaun Walker in Moscow
Monday 13 June 2016 21.27 BST
A notorious far-right activist who has been photographed giving a Nazi salute is travelling with the official Russian FA delegation at Euro 2016 and was in Marseille at the weekend as clashes erupted between Russian and English fans.
Anti-racism groups have raised serious concerns over the fact that Alexander Shprygin apparently holds official accreditation with the Russia team’s entourage at the tournament. He also joined a Russian delegation that toured France’s host cities in March.
Amid the fallout from the weekend’s violence in Marseille, which has led to Russia and England being warned they could be kicked out of the tournament, the organisation employed by Uefa to monitor racism within stadiums has identified Shprygin as one of the leading figures in introducing neo-Nazi views and practices to the Russian supporter scene since the late 1990s.
Shprygin is considered by the Fare network, which provides official observers at matches for Uefa and Fifa, to be a leading light in Russia’s network of extreme-right ultra fan groups. Piara Powar, the network’s executive director, said that the presence of Shprygin within the official party raised wider concerns about “the apparent nexus of high-level politicians, far-right leaders and extreme nationalism” in Russian football ahead of the 2018 World Cup that will be hosted in the country.
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• Alexander Shprygin photographed giving a Nazi salute
• Shprygin considered a leading light in network of extreme-right ultra groups
Owen Gibson in Paris and Shaun Walker in Moscow
Monday 13 June 2016 21.27 BST
A notorious far-right activist who has been photographed giving a Nazi salute is travelling with the official Russian FA delegation at Euro 2016 and was in Marseille at the weekend as clashes erupted between Russian and English fans.
Anti-racism groups have raised serious concerns over the fact that Alexander Shprygin apparently holds official accreditation with the Russia team’s entourage at the tournament. He also joined a Russian delegation that toured France’s host cities in March.
Amid the fallout from the weekend’s violence in Marseille, which has led to Russia and England being warned they could be kicked out of the tournament, the organisation employed by Uefa to monitor racism within stadiums has identified Shprygin as one of the leading figures in introducing neo-Nazi views and practices to the Russian supporter scene since the late 1990s.
Shprygin is considered by the Fare network, which provides official observers at matches for Uefa and Fifa, to be a leading light in Russia’s network of extreme-right ultra fan groups. Piara Powar, the network’s executive director, said that the presence of Shprygin within the official party raised wider concerns about “the apparent nexus of high-level politicians, far-right leaders and extreme nationalism” in Russian football ahead of the 2018 World Cup that will be hosted in the country.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/13/far-right-activist-euro-2016-russian-fa-alexander-shprygin-nazi-salute
