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Russian PM Proposes Life Bans For Soccer Hooligans


Fans light flares during a Russian-league match between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg in Moscow, on November 17.
Fans light flares during a Russian-league match between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg in Moscow, on November 17.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is calling for the most notorious soccer hooligans to be banned for life from matches.

During a meeting with deputy prime ministers on November 26, Medvedev said punishments should be "extremely harsh against those who come to the stadium to misbehave rather than watch the match."

A Russian league game between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg was called off last week after the Dynamo goalkeeper was injured by a firecracker thrown from the Zenit stands.

More than 90 people were briefly detained after the match, but no one has been charged.

After the game, the government proposed introducing harsher punishments for hooligans.

Russia is due to host a series of international sporting events in the coming years, including the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the soccer World Cup in 2018.

Based on reporting by Interfax and AP

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