DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The head of the 2018 World Cup in Russia said soccer violence "was a concern" in his country and that it would take the necessary measures to ensure fans were safe inside and outside of the stadiums.

Alexey Sorokin said Tuesday on the sidelines of a Dubai sports conference that he expects Russia will bring "security up to level where it's absolutely safe inside the stadium," adding the country plans to introduce rules requiring tickets bought only with proper identification as well as infrastructure upgrades to stadiums that include security cameras.

Sorokin's comments come weeks after a Russian league game between Dynamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg was called off after the Dynamo goalkeeper was injured by a firecracker thrown from the Zenit stands.

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