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| Belarus: 100 fans held for Putin song at Euro 2016 game | Belarus: 100 fans held for Putin song at Euro 2016 game |
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| More than 100 football fans have been detained in Belarus after nearly the entire stadium joined in chanting a well-known song insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin, media reports say. | More than 100 football fans have been detained in Belarus after nearly the entire stadium joined in chanting a well-known song insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin, media reports say. |
| Both local and visiting fans at the Euro 2016 qualifier between Ukraine and Belarus in Borisov came together in a rousing rendition of the song - which has became a popular expression of opposition to Putin in Ukraine, the Belarusian paper Nasha Niva reports. Belarusian fans are also heard voicing their solidarity with their Ukrainian counterparts by chanting the signature slogan of the Maidan protests in Kiev - Slava Ukrayini ("Glory to Ukraine"). The Ukrainians return the favour by chanting Zhyve Belarus ("Long live Belarus"). | |
| After the match, about 100 Ukrainian and 30 Belarusian were held and taken to the local KGB station, reportedly on suspicion of using "obscene language", the opposition website Charter '97 reports. According to one report, some of them will be taken to court and are expected to receive a five-day sentence. The Ukrainian fans will also be deported. | After the match, about 100 Ukrainian and 30 Belarusian were held and taken to the local KGB station, reportedly on suspicion of using "obscene language", the opposition website Charter '97 reports. According to one report, some of them will be taken to court and are expected to receive a five-day sentence. The Ukrainian fans will also be deported. |
| It's not the first time the anti-Putin song has made waves. In June, Russian officials called for the resignation of the then Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsya, after he joined Kiev protesters in insulting Putin. The authorities in Moscow are frowning on fruity language more generally - in April, parliament passed a bill that bans swearing from films, music and other works of art. | |
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