President Vladimir Putin signed into law Tuesday legislation that would ban convicted hooligans from sports events for at least six months and up to seven years.
The so-called Fan Law, which is aimed squarely at keeping the 2018 World Cup in Russia safe from hooligans, will come into effect on January 19, 2014.
Under the new law, if someone serving a stadium ban is found at a sports event, he or she can be fined up to 25,000 rubles ($770) or detained for 15 days. Police and sports federations will be required to keep lists of violators, while stadium owners must install CCTV systems to identify troublemakers.
The legislation had its first reading in the lower house of parliament back in April.
There were more than 14,000 offenses committed at Russian sporting events over the last three years, according to federal sports ministry data.
On Sunday, police arrested 38 people for lighting flares and ripping up seats at a Russian Premier League match in Nizhny Novgorod between FC Volga and Lokomotiv Moscow.
