World Cup fans blocked from Poland

OPPORTUNISTIC supporters who visited Russia with a view to breaking into Europe have been thwarted by officials on the border between the host nation and Poland.

The local English-speaking ‘Moscow Times’ – which tends to have a direct line to government communications – reported yesterday that 17 fans from Nigeria and Morocco have tried to enter Poland illegally since the tournament began.

Russia have relaxed entry rules for the timespan of this competition with supporters with tickets granted a special ‘Fan ID’ which they can use to get around the country.

Kaliningrad – the stage for England’s meeting with Poland on Thursday – borders with Poland.

In the most recent incident, guards detained six Moroccans who crossed into north-east Poland from Kaliningrad.

They were clocked by local officials and handed back to Russia.

Football fans from any country are eligible to collect a Fan ID and the report added that citizens from Algeria and Yemen were also caught out trying to cross the border.

Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave situated between Poland and Lithuania and is extremely close to Gdansk, a place that became familiar to Ireland fans in Euro 2012.

There is a direct train service between the cities and an increased presence of England fans is expected this week because of the convenience of the location compared to Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod.