The Russophobia that has been nurtured for years in Poland can be seen in the behavior of football fans. But we should view them as marginal, isolated incidents that have little bearing on the steadily improving Polish-Russian relations.

       On June 13, the day after the world saw Polish hooligans attack Russian football fans, including women and children, Artur Dembski, secretary for the parliamentary Polikot’s Movement party, and members of the parliamentary commission on sports wrote a letter of apology addressed to Alexander Alekseyev, the Russian Ambassador to Poland .

       The letter says that “the whole of Polish society is being viewed through the prism of several hundred hooligans instigated by the Law and Justice Party, Radio Maryja, and the organization known as Solidarni 2010.” Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Law and Justice Party and football hooligan groups have been courting each other for more than a year. These pseudo-fans were involved in the riots in Warsaw on November 11, 2011, which resulted in the devastation on Constitution Square and the burning of TVN and Polsat vehicles, whose crews were covering the events. They also attempted to interfere with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s election campaign and quite recently disrupted a meeting in Przemysl that was to be addressed by MP Robert Biedron of Polikot’s Movement. All of this is part of the preconceived strategy of the Law and Justice leaders, who see riots as a chance to undermine Poland’s overall success as co-host of the EURO-2012 football championship.

       Shoulder-to-shoulder with these football hooligans, Law and Justice sought to ruin the friendly atmosphere of the tournament. Partisan interests proved more important for them than Poland’s prestige. They were not sorry that their country became a subject of mockery. The following is a Twitter post by a Warsaw-based politician, Maciej Maciejowski, who represents Law and Justice on the Warsaw City Council: “It’s a shame the police didn’t ban the Russian march, Polish honor had to be defended by fans. Bravo! We won’t let them spit in our faces!”

       Law and Justice, along with Radio Maryja and Solidarni 2010, have fomented hatred of Russians among their audience. This is a dangerous alliance of political groups and football (street) hooligans who are not above rioting.

       The Russophobia that has been nurtured for years in Poland can be seen in the behavior of football fans. Law and Justice MP Antoni Macierewicz claimed that Russia “has declared a war on Poland.” We saw the results of this inflammatory rhetoric on June 12 in Warsaw, to the shame of most Poles.

       The letter to the Russian ambassador was a human reaction: the writers were ashamed and felt responsible for the image of their country to the rest of the world.

       There is some consolation in knowing that the overwhelming majority of the Polish public has either a positive or neutral attitude to Russians. The vast majority of Polish fans have a vested interest in distancing themselves from these aggressive football hooligans. June 12 and other manifestations of Russophobia must be condemned. But we should view them as marginal, isolated incidents that have little bearing on the steadily improving Polish-Russian relations.

       Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.