From football hooligans to warriors

A volunteer of Espanola guards the football stadium in Mariupol. — AFP

AT the main football stadium in Moscow-controlled Mariupol, stickers of the local Ukrainian team are still visible, but armed football ultras from Russia now patrol the stands.

The logo of FC Mariupol – a seagull and an anchor on an orange and blue background, with the name of the city spelled in Ukrainian – has been partly scraped off on one dugout.