Source: Sun

THEY exercise on nails and broken glass and are only selected to join the elite force after enduring no-holds-barred fist fights. Russia’s feared special police are armed, ready and waiting for the tens of thousands of English football fans expected in Moscow for next month’s Champions League final.

Veterans of the bloody war in Chechnya, the OMON special police will guard the streets around the Luzhniki Stadium, where up to 50,000 English fans could gather for the game on May 21.

The Unit – motto “we know no mercy and never ask for it” – have been placed on alert to crush any hint of trouble.

Chelsea or Liverpool are certain to be in the final. And if Manchester United beat Barcelona in the second leg of their semi-final, two English teams will make the showpiece for the first time.

The Russian police are used to dealing with their own hard-core hooligans, who could ALSO be awaiting the English fans.

But with their sixteen-wheel antiriot vans, AK47 rifles and ferocious attack dogs, the OMON are a scary proposition for travelling supporters.

And Vladimir Putin’s riot police are relishing the prospect.

One security source in Russia simply said: “Look on YouTube to see what they are capable of.”

One clip shows a defenceless civilian being brutally kidney punched until he collapses by a laughing OMON officer.

Understandably, Moscow police sources claim to be confident about the invasion, despite the reputation of English fans abroad.

They take them to secure “sobering houses”, where they are stripped naked and chained to bare metal beds until they have sobered up.

Although Moscow hoteliers are hiking prices by 300 per cent for the period around the final, with the average room

They take them to secure “sobering houses”, where they are stripped naked and chained to bare metal beds until they have sobered up.

Although Moscow hoteliers are hiking prices by 300 per cent for the period around the final, with the average room costing £350 a night, security sources told the Sun: “Sobering houses are not a good way round the cost of hotels.

“They are an exercise in Soviet-style humiliation, very, very uncomfortable.”

In addition, Moscow is in the grip of a plague of wild dogs which have been killing old or drunken street sleepers. Fans should also be wary of the Russian football gangs.

The country has a rampant hooligan culture similar to that in Britain in the 1970s.

Each leading team has its own firm of hardened “Ultras”, who carry knives and metal staves and regularly meet away from the main stadiums for formal fights. Russian hooligans model themselves on their English counterparts and will think nothing of trying to hijack English fans on route to the match.

Perhaps those most at risk would be supporters of Liverpool or Manchester United.

“Many Russians now see Chelsea as one of ours since Roman Abramovich bought this English jewel,” said one source.

Certainly if Chelsea do make it past Liverpool to the final they will have “home advantage” with Russian fans all behind them.

The police, too, can be a problem in Moscow. Corruption is rife, with officers targeting tourists in the hope of scamming dubious “fines”.

English fans are advised to ALWAYS carry their passports. They should NEVER let go of the document. Even if a police officer asks for it they should just hold it so the policeman can see it.

If the officer’s attention wanders, slip off. If they grab your passport you have to stay or hand over cash to get it back. Police will also try to go through wallets for no good reason.

Experts have advised one way of seeing off the threat is to bring out a mobile phone and tell them you are phoning the British Consulate.

And if English fans want a drink – and they usually do – there is further reason to beware.

Russia is awash with fake vodka made with methanol, a byproduct of the oil industry. Each year 40,000 people die there from alcoholic poisoning, so buying cheap vodka at stalls or from touts is a no-no.

And beware offers of free booze from new Russian friends made in Moscow’s pubs and bars.

The Russian Mafia and bar girls are known to spike Westerners’ drinks with date-rape drug Rohypnol, leaving tourists waking up to hangovers and missing wallets.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. OMON police were on duty for England’s clash against Russia in October with little trouble.

And Russians are generally fairly pro-British, whatever President Putin thinks, as a result of the Second World War alliance.

Russian women aren’t shy and are keen on Westerners, with nightclubs like Piramida and Nightflight, along with a host of striptease joints near Red Square, always popular with Brits.

Bars in Russia are pricey, with a half litre of lager at places like Molly Gwynnes on Novy Arbat Street – the main casino and night-club drag – costing around £2.70.

At the Big Pig Pub in Maroseyka spirits are two for the price of one between midnight and 6am, and if fans can’t get tickets, the Sportland sports bar on Novy Arbat is described by expat Ian Thomas as “the best in the world”.

He adds: “Moscow is now Europe’s leading 24-hour city so fans will always find somewhere to celebrate – or drown their sorrows.”