The number of racist displays by Russian football fans has doubled with most cases going unpunished as the country prepares to host the 2018 World Cup, anti-discrimination campaigners say.
Researchers from the Moscow-based SOVA Center and the UEFA-affiliated Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) logged 92 incidents of discriminatory displays and chants by Russian fans in and around stadiums during the 2014-15 season, against a total of 83 for the previous two seasons put together.
FARE executive director Piara Powar told The Associated Press: "[At the World Cup] there will be incidents inside stadiums, around stadiums. The question will be how frequently they occur, how serious they are.