MOSCOW — Alexander Shprygin, the 38-year-old head of Russia’s football supporters’ association, looked wary when I met him at his organization’s spacious offices in central Moscow. Dubbed a “Nazi-loving pal of Putin†and a “far-right fan leader†by international media after violence by tooled-up Russian hooligans at the summer’s Euro 2016 tournament, Shprygin represents what critics alleged was a Kremlin strike force sent to wreak havoc on the streets of France.
“Just look at all this stuff they wrote about me,†sighed Shprygin, using his smartphone to scroll through multiple English language newspaper stories about the disturbances, which culminated in dozens …read more
Source: European Voice
