![]() Political meltdown has been avoided, a tangle of interests preserved. At the end of which Russia have in effect been fined €150,000 (£120,000) for the most feral violence at a modern-day, post-gentrification European Championship. Immediate ejection, a stadium ban, a points penalty, a larger fine, a longer suspended sentence: no guilty nation – be they England, Russia, Iceland, Albania – could have complained if any of these had been the punishment. Add in the fact a previous suspended six-point deduction expired only at the end of qualification and Russian football is dodging the real body-blows here with all the skill of a roided-up ultra at a pre‑brawl forest training camp. Plus the threat of sanction ends once Russia exit the tournament, which is possibly as early as next week. And let’s face it, with England safely despatched, Russian hooligans are pretty unlikely to rush the Slovakia end on Wednesday afternoon. Disorder has to take place in the stadium. ![]() Look a little closer at the realpolitik, however, and this starts to seem instead like an expertly moderated pseudo-punishment. Even when, as here, that nation seems scarcely disturbed, sections of its media and politicians even rather proud. Against this, there is the balance of not punishing a nation and a set of players for acts committed by a criminal minority. Most obviously, Uefa should be applauded for raising the prospect of ejection for any nation whose fans endanger lives and generally trash the spectacle. The verdict of the Control Ethics and Disciplinary Body takes a little unravelling.
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