England fans warned of World Cup harassment threat after Salisbury attack Football fans have been warned they may face harassment at the World Cup in Russia due to “political tensions” created […]

Football fans have been warned they may face harassment at the World Cup in Russia due to “political tensions” created by the Salisbury poisonings and to avoid commenting publicly about the stand-off between London and Moscow.

In advice updated since the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, the Foreign Office told travellers to Russia, who will include thousands of England fans during the football tournament in June, to “remain vigilant” and avoid protests.

‘Anti-British sentiment’

Officials, apparently anticipating deteriorating relations between Britain and Russia, warned that Britons should aware of the risk of “anti-British sentiment or harassment” arising from “heightened political tensions”.

The warning was released shortly after Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that no Government ministers nor members of the Royal Family, in particular Football Association president Prince William, will attend the World Cup tournament.

Mrs May sidestepped calls from MPs to request that Fifa, world football’s governing body, consider postponing the competition but said she expected senior FA officials to be “considering their position” over whether to attend.

The Prime Minister said: “The holding of sporting events and the choice of venues for those sporting events is a matter for the sporting authorities. As regards to sporting authorities here in the United Kingdom, they will have heard what I have said today about the actions of the Russian state.”

Nato and EU

Mrs May also chose not to answer a question about whether she would be asking Briton’s Nato and European Union allies to ban official attendance at the tournament.

The warnings to travellers could further depress sales of World Cup tickets to Britons, which had already been hit by fears that Russian hooligans were planning to confront England fans.

As few as 10,000 people were thought to have booked tickets at the beginning of the year – around half the number that travelled to Brazil in 2014. Fifa revealed this week that England does not feature among the top ten countries with the highest demand for tickets and yesterday there was still “high availability” for the team’s opening game against Tunisia.

Safety and security

The FA said it was continuing to work closely with the Government concerning its participation in the World Cup.

In a tweet, the organisation added: “Our priority for all England matches is to ensure the safety and security of the fans, players and staff. As is standard practice, we will take all travel guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”