Violent brawl during football game sees at least 40 injured

A football game held Saturday outside Russia’s city of St. Petersburg turned bloody when a group of intoxicated fans started a skirmish that saw more than forty people injured.

Law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, whose exact circumstances still remain uncertain. According to eyewitness reports, a group of approximately twenty intoxicated men stormed the bleachers during a fourth-division game, RIA Novosti news agency reports.

The men who launched the attack appeared to be armed with glass bottles and chairs and wore mouth guards, according to witness testimony. Some media reports claim that more than one hundred people were involved in the fight and that some witnesses heard gunshots. However, in approximately twenty minutes those who initiated the fight dispersed, leaving authorities with no one to detain.

There have been conflicting reports as to which team’s fans are, in fact, behind the violence. If apprehended, however, the offenders could face up to seven years in prison.

Video courtesy of Aleksandr Kulebyakin