Russian politician Igor Lebedev has sensationally claimed football hooliganism could become a sport.

The country hosts the World Cup in 2018 and Lebedev has drafted plans for a 'draka', which literally translates as 'fight', with 20 unarmed combatants on either side.

The Liberal Democrat Party MP gained notoriety last year when he appeared to encourage Russian hooligans at Euro 2016, and he said the 'draka' could attract as many fans as a football match.

On his party's website, he said: "Russia could become a pioneer in a new kind of sport. Fans arrive and start picking fights - the call is accepted at the meeting at the stadium ... on each side of 20 people, without arms."

Police were forced to intervene during the Euros 

Lebedev, who is also a member of the Russian Football Union's executive committee, defended the clash between fans of Russia and England at last year's European Championship as "normal", adding: "I don't see anything wrong with the fans fighting."

Two England fans were left in a critical condition after three days of violence in Marseille.

Russian hooligans last month warned England fans that they are "100 per cent guaranteed" to be targeted at the World Cup.

One hooligan, known as Denis and the leader of the 'Orel Butchers' group that was at the centre of the Marseille violence, said tactics honed domestically had given them the upper hand over England fans at Euro 2016.

"There is some street-fight tactics that we obviously exercised a lot of times fighting in cities," he said in a BBC documentary, Russia's Hooligan Army.

Speaking of next year's World Cup, he added: "They can come over and we'll see. Somebody will obviously try to do something, that is like 100 per cent - 100 per cent guaranteed."

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