A Russian court has sentenced a Muslim man from North Caucasus to 20 years in prison for killing an ethnic Russian football fan last year.

A jury at Moscow City Court had convicted Aslan Cherkesov of premeditated murder last week. Five other people who took part in the December street violence that also left at least 30 people injured were each sentenced to five years in prison.

Yegor Sviridov, a fan of the Spartak football team, was shot dead during the brawl in Moscow. His death sparked large nationalist rallies in several Russian cities, as nationalist groups often overlap with football team support groups.

President Dmitry Medvedev warned at the time that ethnic violence threatens the country's stability and urged police to curb such clashes.

Ethnic violence has been on the rise in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.