By Tim Stannard

1) Russian football executive praises performance of hooligans in World Cup warning

For those in the football fraternity who enjoy having bricks thrown at their head, hit with iron bars, attacked or abused for not being white, heterosexual and…Russian, basically…World Cup 2018 looks like being a truly life-affirming, memorable occasion. Indeed, so much so that a top Russian football official has been more than happy to express his own delight over the scenes of Russian hooligans rioting in Marseille over the weekend, and notes that this is what football is all about. On home soil, it could be even better!

Igor Lebedev, who sits on the executive committee of the Russian football union, tweeted that “I don’t see anything wrong with the fans fighting.” “Quite the opposite, well done lads, keep it up!” “In nine out of 10 cases, football fans go to games to fight, and that’s normal,” asserted Lebedev to a Russian media outlet. Good work FIFA! Putting the fight back into football.

2) England manager pleads for good behavior from fans as King Zlatan enters the fray

On the unfortunate topic of violence, a prosecutor in Marseille, the scene of extensive violence between Russian and English supporters, has revealed that not a single Russian was arrested despite claiming that 150 "ultra-violent and ultra-rapid" hooligans were involved in the trouble, that has led to UEFA considering throwing both teams out of the tournament and imposing alcohol bans ahead of Euro 2016 games.

England manager, Roy Hodgson, is quite concerned that the deeply unpleasant behavior of some England fans currently in France watching Euro 2016 will lead the expulsion of his side. Well before he himself manages to achieve that after the group stages. On Monday, Hodgson asked the aforementioned thugs to please stop.

But onto the football. Spain started play – with David De Gea in goal - in the country’s Group D clash with the Czech Republic, to be followed by His return to the football pitch as King Zlatan takes on Ireland. He will be joined by 10 other Swedish players. Group E is completed by the immovable object of Italy defense attempting their first goalless draw of the tournament against Belgium.

3) Brazil outdo themselves with Copa catastrophe

A few days ago in times of yore, Sports Burst had asked Brazil “how low can you go?” The answer was “extremely low” after the formerly decent outfit were eliminated from the Copa America on Sunday night due to a 1-0 defeat to Peru.

Indeed, the offending goal that saw Brazil’s comeuppance was a clear handball, but picking up a simple point against their rivals should have been well within the bounds of possibilities for Brazil. But apparently not. Still, Dunga seems to be fairly chirpy about his chances of staying in charge for more months of abject failure. "I do not fear dismissal; I am only afraid of death," growled the soon-to-be-fired coach. Ecuador and Peru pass through with Ecuador facing the USA on Thursday.

There is not a great deal to see in Thursday’s Copa with both games in Group C being somewhat perfunctory. Mexico and Venezuela face off to see who can top the group and potentially avoid Argentina in the next round. Uruguay and Jamaica are already out and will play a game a football that might well lack joie de vivre.

4) Pjanic on brink of Juve switch with medical completed

Juventus are in the brink of finalizing a deal for Roma’s Miralem Pjanic, who has arrived in Turin for his medical. Mirko Vucinic, who trod the same transfer path in 2011, said that the Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder will do very well indeed. “We're talking about a champion,” purred Vucinic.

5) Usain Bolt faces return of gold medal after teammate’s failed doping test

Usain Bolt has admitted that handing back a gold medal won in the Beijing Olympics for the 100m sprint relay would be “heart-breaking.” The Jamaican faces the possibility after team-mate, Nesta Carter, reportedly tested positive for banned substance in a retrospective check done on samples taken eight years ago.

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?

The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. SB is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.