Three fans of Club Brugge have been imprisoned in Kazakhstan until Sunday after dressing up as film character Borat at a Champions League match.
The trio had travelled for the Belgian club's game against Kairat Almaty on Tuesday night, along with 500 other supporters of the Blau-Zwart. The Flemish side went on to win 4-1, keeping them in the race to qualify for the knockout stages.
As the visiting team scored their third goal, the three fans took off their clothes to reveal neon green 'mankini' swimsuits, famously worn by the main character of Sacha Baron Cohen's 2006 satirical film about a fictional Kazakh journalist.
The supporters were promptly detained by police officers, a nearby supporter told Het Laatste Nieuws, and spent the night in prison. They appeared before a local court on Wednesday morning, where they were handed fines and a prison sentence lasting until Sunday night.
According to Belga, the court declared that the fans, identified as S, D, and N, "disrupted public order" and were "intoxicated" during the match. The Belgian Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs confirmed the incident, and said it was providing consular assistance to the individuals
"They never intended to provoke anyone. It was a joke," explained Matthieu, a friend of the three fans, to HLN. After the verdict, Matthieu went with a representative of the Belgian embassy to the prison, where he paid the fines amounting to €18.64 per person.
"I wanted to speak to them there, of course, but I was not allowed," he said. "The ambassador was allowed in and saw and spoke to them. They are sharing a cell and are doing well. They are being treated well, which is reassuring."
As none of the three supporters have access to their phones, they are unable to book new flights home, Matthieu added. "The embassy is trying to arrange for them to have access to a telephone for ten minutes, but we have no news on that yet. In the meantime, we've already arranged a solution for their luggage."
On its release, Borat was initially banned in Kazakhstan over its portrayal of the country. While this is no longer the case, the film remains a sensitive topic in the Central Asian state. In 2024, a flag made by Chelsea fans bearing an image of Borat was confiscated during a Europa Conference League match in Astana.
