June 12, 2006

Hidden: Mass arrests as police mistake rugby for brawl. : Players fall foul of "counter-terrorism action." More than 100 people were detained in the southern Russian city of Rostov-On-Don after police mistook an innocent game of rugby for a mass brawl. ... The police broke up proceedings and detained some 100 people before determining that they were engaged in a bizarre sport instead of brawling.

posted by the red terror to extreme at 07:18 PM - 13 comments

I wonder if that could be used as a legal defense if I get in a fight? It might work as well as a self-defense plea. *starts carrying a rugby ball with me* Fascinating article--thanks red terror.

posted by curtangle at 08:45 PM on June 12, 2006

I went to a hockey game and a rugby match broke out.

posted by tommybiden at 09:02 PM on June 12, 2006

Personally, I think they are all fibbing about the rugby match. Rostov-On-Don? Yeah, I think Rostov was on Don, Boris, Yevgeny (that's eugene to us), Vladamir, and a bunch more of those fun-loving, kinky Russians. There must have been some fun stuff going on, even down under good ole Boris and Vladimir, not that Rostov wasn't taking advantage of his position at the top of the heap. You have to have law and order. The cops had to do what they did, since huge piles of that stuff going on in public places might be a real nuisance.

posted by Bud Lang at 10:23 PM on June 12, 2006

Oooops.

posted by dbt302 at 11:13 PM on June 12, 2006

Damn Police just have nothing better to do these days.

posted by CrazyRamsFan at 12:27 AM on June 13, 2006

Great story. Does that make the All Blacks the mafia of the rugby world then?

posted by Fence at 03:05 AM on June 13, 2006

Makes me wonder what kind of martial law is going on when a police force can spare and dispatch SEVENTY OFFICERS on a Sunday afternoon.

posted by the red terror at 10:07 AM on June 13, 2006

"Does that make the All Blacks the mafia of the rugby world then?" The current AB coaching and selection panel have been ridiculed by media and fans alike as "The Cartel." I suspect that makes Graham Henry the new Pablo Escobar.

posted by the red terror at 10:11 AM on June 13, 2006

The current AB coaching and selection panel have been ridiculed by media and fans alike as "The Cartel." Well hopefully the ridicule will only grow when we beat the AB in the second test (I can still hope).

posted by Fence at 10:26 AM on June 13, 2006

Isn't this a self-link?

posted by rocketman at 10:57 AM on June 13, 2006

Looks like it Rocketman

posted by sgtcookzane at 12:30 PM on June 13, 2006

Uh, yeah, it is. Is that a faux pas? [ . . . ] I just checked the user guidelines. I guess I did make a faux pas. (I can see how this policy is good for eliminating spammers, but I thought this was a community. e.g. "Our goal is to bring sports fans together and foster a thriving community." Oops, another mistake.) Feel free to remove it. (It's up on Deadspin right now, people can read it there instead.) Cheers!

posted by the red terror at 05:42 PM on June 13, 2006

It is a community, but if you want traffic to your site, feel free to buy some GoogleAds to support your sports community. Otherwise, write a column for your community to foster the thrivingness of said community. Also, community. Community. And finally, community.

posted by jerseygirl at 09:53 AM on June 20, 2006

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