Riot police will not work at Russian Premier League matches any more

Heads of the Russian Football Union (RFS), the Russian Football Premier League (RFPL), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have reached an agreement that special service units of police will not be present at the stadiums during the matches of the Russian championship. This was announced by the RFPL’s director for safety Alexander Meitin.

The presence of the Russian riot police units, the so-called OMON, during the games has been a long-standing problem in local football that has been causing violent clashes in the stands between the supporters and the police up until recently.

«Following the results of the meeting we have agreed with the Ministry of Internal Affairs that special service units will be taken away from all the stadiums, where the Premier League teams play. I was in Rostov-on-Don yesterday, there was already no OMON, and the atmosphere at the stadium was festive and merry. People should not come to the stadium as if it were a war.

«The order in the stands will be provided by stewards working either in the clubs, or in specialised companies. In certain cases we will also invite some police units. But we will define by ourselves how many policemen we need and do we need them at all,» Meitin stated as quoted by RIA Novosti.