Czech Police Detain Belarusian FA Head: Report

Umer Jamshaid Published November 30, 2021 | 11:51 PM

Czech police on Tuesday detained Belarusian Football Federation head Vladimir Bazanov on suspicions of unauthorised entry into the country, Czech media said

Prague, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Nov, 2021 ) :Czech police on Tuesday detained Belarusian Football Federation head Vladimir Bazanov on suspicions of unauthorised entry into the country, Czech media said.

Bazanov is an ally of Belarusian strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, sanctioned by the EU after winning the 2020 presidential election seen as rigged by observers.

The Belarusian women's football team was due to face the Czech Republic in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday but the game was postponed as three Belarusian players had tested positive for Covid-19.

The Denik N daily wrote that the police had detained Bazanov and his wife.

Regional police spokeswoman Pavla Jirouskova told AFP police had detained two foreigners on suspicion that "they had entered and stayed on the Czech territory counter to the health ministry's protective measures".

She added the two did not have the entry form required from people crossing the border into the Czech Republic amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We are also looking into their stay in the context of the law on foreigners' stay," Jirouskova said without giving any Names.

Denik N quoted Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek as saying earlier that the 64-year-old Bazanov, head of the Belarusian Football Federation since 2019, would be expelled from the country if he showed up for the game.