Belarusian border guards are increasingly detaining foreigners, posing as fans returning from the World Cup. They are trying to get into the EU.
This week there have been several incidents with “pseudo-fans” heading to the European Union. On Tuesday night, border guards detained four Moroccans near Smarhon. They wanted to enter Lithuania. A few days earlier, on Sunday and Monday, groups of their compatriots were also detained.
“Before that, the citizens of Pakistan were detained in the Polish direction. And all of them are great fans of football,” representative of the State Border Committee Alyaksei Sytsenkou said jokingly.
Some foreigners show the border guards the so-called ‘Fan ID’ to convince them that they are returning home to the EU after visiting the Russian World Cup. They try to take advantage of the fact that foreigners who have Fan IDs enter and leave Russia without a visa from June 4 to July 25. Thanks to the agreement signed by Belarusian and Russian authorities, fans can pass through Belarus.
Stories of “pseudo-fans” quickly fall apart when border guards ask them about the circumstances of their stay at the championship and ask them additional questions.
“When we start ‘working’ with them, unfortunately, not everyone even knows what a ball is,” notes Sytsenkou.
