International

Defeat triggers riots in Moscow

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW JUNE 10. A man died and dozens were injured in the worst street violence in Moscow in years as the Russian soccer team lost to Japan in the World Cup. Hundreds of drunken football fans ran amok setting cars on fire, smashing store windows and beating up police and passers by on Sunday afternoon after watching the game on a giant outdoor screen on Manezh Square next to the Kremlin.

A hundred police deployed in the square were powerless against a crowd of 7,000 to 8,000 that filled the place to capacity. The city health authorities said a young man had been killed and 75 people wounded, including 18 policemen. The rioters burned about 60 cars, vandalised hotels, shops and restaurants along Moscow's most fashionable Tverskaya Ulitsa and neighbouring streets and even broke windows in the Russian Parliament building.

Ambulances and fire fighters arriving on the scene were also attacked. Police reinforcements did not arrive until an hour later when most rioters had left. The 1-0 defeat to Japan dented Russia's chances of making it to the next round of the World Cup finals, but political damage from the riots may be far greater. ``Can Russia bid for major football events if such things happen in this country'' the angry Prime Minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, asked commenting on the rampage.

The violence has prompted a ban on televising World Cup games on outdoor screens in the Russian capital.

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