Far-right group using sports to ‘build militia’, experts warn

Alexander Ritzmann, a researcher with international organisation The Counter Extremism Project and an adviser to the European Commission’s Radicalisation Awareness Network, said he had “never seen a network in right-wing extremism grow so fast”.

He said AC was a “sophisticated operation” and warned if the movement was “allowed to continue to operate and multiply, the likelihood for targeted political violence will increase”.

He said its objective was “to build some sort of militia that hides behind the image of a sports club, while actually preparing for organised violence”.

“When they commit violence, members and groups will not publish a manifesto afterwards,” he said.

“This is different from other kinds of extreme right terrorism, where, after the attack a manifesto with all kinds of explanations and theories is published.”

He said if AC did go on to commit violent acts, they would do it “in disguise” and would not “leave any information behind about their real intention”.

“They might want to make this look like a pub fight or a fight on a bus or train… to avoid being exposed,” he said.