I’ve followed England around the world, but Russia is too risky | Philip Cornwall

Fan violence, blatant racism, politicians backing thugs – I had doubts about the World Cup long before Salisbury

As Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, struggle for life, it should not need saying that any collateral damage suffered by England football fans this summer at the World Cup as a result of the political fallout is a relatively minor concern. But we should also remember there are supporters of the national team who in France during Euro 2016 were subject to horrific assaults, including life-changing brain injuries in two cases, at the hands of Russian hooligans who had the barely concealed encouragement – and quite possibly the military training – of the Putin regime.

There were already good reasons not to make the trip to Russia, even for people like me who have not missed a major finals in Europe since 1990. But thousands of England fans have spent non-refundable four-figure sums on getting to this summer’s World Cup and the chances that they will not, in fact, be following their team in Kaliningrad, Volgograd and beyond have certainly increased.

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