To think the Foreign Office should consider advising/banning England football fans not to travel to Russia?

[yolofish]

I was just thinking: what with the Skripal situation and the mass return of 'diplomats' to Russia from all over the world that English fans may get less than a pleasant welcome if they travel to Russia this summer?

And that Russian football fans have a hard reputation, Russian police are unlikely to take any shit - or may just decide that English=bad, and with fewer diplomats in Russia getting any England fan out of clink might well be a very long-running and expensive business?

I have no idea how this would affect people who have bought tickets/packages etc in terms of insurance, but if I knew anyone who was going my heart would be sinking.

Reggie Yates documentaries are really good. As mentioned before, I lived and worked in several Russian cities (including in Siberia) in 80s and 90s and would say they were some of the best documentaries I've seen. Simon Reeve ones recently were also good.
I wouldn't go as a footie fan if you gave me tickets. And I'm also a footie fan.

Quite apart from the destination country being Russia, any country would be glad not to have English football fans , the behaviour is truly the most appalling of any group of people as sports enthusiasts.

My parents were banned from visiting certain countries when they lived in the USSR. Do you really want Britain to be telling g its citizens where they can and cannot go? I certainly don't. I have this thing called freedom. I like it very much.

Dairy, it's a bit more complicated than that. Over the years the Foreign Office has advised people not to travel to this or that country and, as a consequence, you can't get travel insurance to go to the country in question.
It would not be a new departure from the norm to tell people where they should and shouldn't visit.
The Foreign Office is NOT, as far as I know advising people to stay away.

Advising on grounds of safety would hardly be the same thing DairyisClosed.

It was a scandal of FIFA corruption that Russia was given the World Cup -as is Qatar - and I don't think it will be safe for any England fan.

Ignoring the current political tensions, I wouldn’t go near Russia during the World Cup anyway. However, we were there for a week last April (Moscow & St Petersburg and took the overnight Red Arrow train between the two- independent travel, not a tour) and it was fantastic. Am hoping to do the trans Mongolian express to Beijing with DS in 2020.

I just looked at the official FO advice, dated today: dont go anywhere red; only go to the yellow bits if essential; take advice on the green bits. Red and yellow seem to be near the bottom (Ukraine borders and Chechnya) but my geography is a bit shit. Most of the place is green... but I still wouldnt want my loved ones going for the football because I think it's all going to blow up over the next few months.

@PutABirdOnIt . We have a holiday booked there for the Autumn. If you go before me, please let me know how things are.

I’m hoping things will have blown over a bit in the meantime.

Good luck

Most of the football fans will probably have booked before all this latest stuff happened. If they cancel now they won’t be covered by their insurance unless the FO changes the advice to don’t travel.
It would be very unfair to the fans if we pull out of the tournament now but don’t change the travel advice - they will be stuck with a holiday to Russia they would never have booked had it not been for the football

Anyone with family who are planning to go to Russia for the World Cup, I urge you to dissuade them. I am a football fan and have a connection with the Premier League. I am a member of many football forums and I know will be going and that they won't be there for the football alone.

The old "faces" are going. Men who would be banned from going if they were living still in the UK but who now live abroad, places like Thailand, the Philippines so UK law can do nothing about it. Anyone who is a football fan will know the names of those "faces" and know that they are trouble from the start. Don't let your innocent people become caught up in it, I am also convinced that someone or some people will die out there.

In reality our football team should be boycotting it. Make the tournament Putin has paid for less legitimate.

@PutABirdOnIt Are you sure you want to go? It is potentially dangerous. Are you English?

I definitely still want to go - there are so many places of historical and cultural interest that I'd love to see and visiting Russia has been something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's just a shame my timing is so poor.

I'm Scottish, so while I would normally describe myself as British, on this occasion I'll be quick to point out I'm from Scotland.

glitterbiscuits Thank you. I'm sure in truth we'll both have great holidays.