Police Arrest Players Spectators at Russian Rugby Match
Police in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don broke up an amateur rugby match, detaining players and spectators because they thought it was a brawl, BBC News reports.
The Russian news agency RIA said police had received a tip about a mass brawl at an empty sports field in the city’s outskirts.
Nearly 100 people were involved — either playing or watching the match.
When the police realized no offenses had been committed, the detainees were all released, RIA said.
The police argued that their actions — involving 73 officers — were justified, as they had not been informed of the match in advance.
The players were quoted as saying such amateur matches were common and were often held in the neighboring Volgograd and Stavropol regions of southern Russia.
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