MINSK, Belarus (AP) They don’t chant, they don’t move, and they
mostly wear the wrong colors.
They’re not even real.
Defending Belarusian league champion Dynamo Brest has started
boosting its home crowds with mannequins in soccer shirts and
adorned with the faces of ”virtual fans” who bought tickets
online.
Belarus is the last country in Europe still hosting professional
sports in front of spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic, but
attendances are shrinking as fans decide the stadium is too risky.
Fan boycotts have been announced at 10 of the 16 clubs in the top
division. That includes Dynamo Brest and Champions League regular
BATE Borisov.
As the real fans stay away, the mannequins have arrived.
For Wednesday’s Belarusian Cup semifinal match against Shakhtyor
Soligorsk, at least 30 of the mannequins were placed on seats in
the stands, each topped with a cut-out photo.
They wore a motley array of old shirts ranging from a purple
2016-17 Real Madrid away jersey to early 1990s Aston Villa in
claret and blue. Other shirts were stretched over nearby seats.
With few games to watch elsewhere, some foreign fans have started
watching games from Belarus instead. Dynamo Brest general secretary
Vladimir Machulsky wants them to feel at home.
”It’s our creative idea. In this way, a virtual spectator who is
following the match broadcast on television can see himself in the
stands,” Machulsky told The Associated Press. ”We’re not trying
to imitate a full stand. We understand the fans who have refused to
come to the games. We decided to take a creative approach to the
situation.”
The ”virtual tickets” seem to be a profitable sideline for Dynamo
Brest. They are on sale for a league game Sunday for 67 Belarusian
rubles ($26.90), more than five times the cost of the most
expensive normal ticket sold online. Some cost as little as 1.75
rubles (70 cents).
The club said 12 ”virtual” tickets were sold for Wednesday’s
first leg in the cup, which Dynamo Brest won 2-0. Buyers came from
six countries, including the United States and Canada.
Keeping sports arenas open has been part of Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko’s unconventional approach to the coronavirus.
He has said there is no need to close workplaces and public events,
and even played in an amateur hockey game in front of fans on March
28.
Despite those assurances, attendances in the Belarusian scccer
league have plummeted in a matter of weeks. Dynamo Brest hosted a
game with a crowd of more then 5,000 last month but less than 1,000
attended Wednesday’s match.
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