It is sad to note that the start of the 2016 UEFA European Championship has been marked with major clashes among soccer hooligans that has left a bitter taste in the mouth of all those who have been waiting for this sporting event.
Even before the start of EURO 2016 English soccer fans were demonstrating their imperial aspirations, starting a true riot in the French town of Marseille. According to media reports, British hooligans have not been simply fighting local Ultras, they were loudly mocking representatives of the local Muslim community, which resulted in a massive fist fight.
The aggressive actions of British hooligans before EURO 2016 were described in much detail by both The Guardian and The Independent. It's been reported that they chanting "ISIS, where are you?", singing insulting songs, and destroying private property of local residents. They've even assaulted a bus that was painted in the colors of the Russian flag.
On Friday, clashes broke out between Russian and English soccer fans. French riot police was immediately deployed in large numbers in Marseille, trying to pacify the fans with tear gas and water cannons I.
At the end of the match between Russia and Britain, a total of 30 Russian fans manage to break through a cordon of stewards, entered the sector with English fans and started a fight there. At the same time British journalists reported that the riots provoked the British fans who insulted the Russians and even desecrated Russian flag.
In Nice, Polish and Northern Ireland have also started clashes and it's been reported that a number of people was seriously injured.
Moreover, according to the publications of Deutsche Welle and La Voix du Nord, more than 50 German football hooligans assaulted Ukrainian fans in Lille, throwing bottles, chairs from and smoke bombs in their direction. Hooligans were chanting right-wing slogans and waving flags of the "Third Reich", they have even attacked a reporter of the German television channel Sport1.
It seems that this will be no end to violence on fans will on EURO 2016, therefore it's imperative that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) organizes a thorough investigation of all the incidents and punish those responsible. Still no one has so far provided an explanation why the European soccer championship has got so violent.
It is no secret that sport competitions between various countries - it's not just a demonstration of success in the physical education of the contenders' population. It's been know for a long time that sports events is a sort of an alternative to military campaigns, that allows you to identify the strongest country without the use of lethal weapons and massive casualties.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the sport is increasingly subjected to political meddling. During the days of Cold War sporting events were held hostage of the political standoff between the two systems: in 1979 the Soviet Union sent troops to Afghanistan, and the next year the United States, along with other Western countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics. In 1984 in the USSR announced it won't be sending its athletes to Olympic games in Los Angeles.
Today, the Cold War is over but political meddling in sports refuses to become part of the history. Instead an ever increasing number of sporting events are being subjected to the rigid political pressure. As an example, one can recall the demands that prominent European politicians made about the need to boycott the Ukrainian part of EURO 2012, and the continuous Brussels' attempts to deprive Belarus of the right to hold the World Ice Hockey Championship back in 2014.
Racism and nationalism are now becoming commonplace among sports fans which we have clearly seen in Marseille, with British fans insulting both Russians and local Muslim communities, or in Lille, where German hooligans have clearly shown their racial intolerance.
But should we really be surprised by such hatred? Hasn't the West launched an aggressive anti-Russian propaganda campaign a while ago, and haven't NATO's actions and numerous speeches that Western politicians make are aimed at threating Russians?
So why political are reluctant to understand that any further military escalation between the West and Russia, China, and Iran could lead to a new major war? Why they prefer to turn a blind eye to the fact that such a conflict could be provoked even by sports fans who fell victims of the aggressive information warfare?
It's high time for politicians to take a seat at a round table to discuss the most pressing contradictions between the countries without any preconditions and sanctions being made, instead of getting sports fans involved in their games? The latter deserve a major sporting show to witness without any politicians meddling with their passion!
Martin Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical analyst, exclusively for the online magazine "New Eastern Outlook."
Is there a strategy to strip Russia of its ability to host future sporting events due to hooliganism and doping charges?