By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER
Published: 05:38 EST, 22 January 2026 | Updated: 05:51 EST, 22 January 2026
A court in Kazakhstan has jailed three Belgian football fans for dressing up as the fictional movie character Borat during a Champions League match in the Central Asian country.
A video broadcast on Kazakh television showed the trio wearing the trademark green mankinis - made famous by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's hit movie about a crude fictional TV reporter from Kazakhstan - during the stands of Tuesday's match between Kairat Almaty and Club Brugge.
The court in the capital Astana said on Thursday it had sentenced three Belgian citizens - identified only by their initials - to five days in jail on public order offences.
'While intoxicated in the stands of the Astana Arena stadium, S., D., and N. removed their clothing, remaining in their underwear, and chanted to attract attention, thereby disturbing public order,' the court said.
The three fans were pulled from the crowd and immediately taken to the police station, according to their friend Matthieu, who witnessed the incident.
'They did it for fun, but the police considered it an insult,' he told local media.
Jokes related to Borat are rarely appreciated in Kazakhstan, which has for years been trying to combat the image of the country presented in the 2006 comedy.
A court in Kazakhstan has sentenced three Belgian football fans to short prison terms for dressing up as the fictional movie character Borat during a Champions League match in the Central Asian country
A video broadcast on Kazakh television showed the trio wearing the trademark green mankinis - made famous by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's hit movie about a crude fictional TV reporter from Kazakhstan - during the stands of Tuesday's match
The mockumentary titled 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan', presents the Central Asian country as backward while implicitly criticising the United States.
The film provoked the ire of the Kazakh authorities, who had banned it but acknowledged that it had attracted more tourists to the country.
Club Brugge won Tuesday's fixture 4-1 to keep their dreams of advancing to the next stage of the Champions League alive, while Kairat languish in last place.
In 2024, stadium security confiscated a flag depicting Borat from a Chelsea supporter during a Conference League match against FC Astana in Kazakhstan.
Some of the most dedicated Chelsea supporters had travelled the 3,500 miles to watch their team secure the victory in minus-12 degree conditions.
And one group even had a special flag made for the occasion.
A court in the capital Astana said it had sentenced three Belgian citizens - identified only by their initials - to five days in jail on public order offences
Jokes related to Borat are rarely appreciated in Kazakhstan, which has for years been trying to combat the image of the country presented in the 2006 comedy
The TikTok account @cfchomeandaway shared a photo of the banner, which showed Sacha Baron Cohen's legendary character Borat in in a Chelsea shirt with his thumbs up and holding a number of country's flags.
'Following Chelsea home and away,' it read, adding Borat's famous catchphrase 'very nice'.
And they then posted a video of the Kazakhstani police confiscating and making it clear that it would not be allowed inside the ground.
Alongside the clip, they wrote: 'RIP flag, police didn't see the funny side.'