Russian fans organized a flashmob to clean up Sochi’s Fisht Stadium after the country’s quarterfinal game against Croatia.
Russia’s national team lost in a penalty shootout against Croatia on Saturday, going further in the tournament than many expected. During other World Cup games, fans from Senegal and Japan made headlines for sticking around after games to help stadium workers pick up litter.
Russia’s Sports.ru website launched a campaign calling on supporters to bring trash bags to Sochi’s stadium under the hashtag #ChistiyChM, meaning: a clean World Cup.
“Let’s admit to ourselves that cleanliness is not our distinctive feature. But the World Cup is an ideal time to make a difference and prove that we too can not leave behind a mountain of garbage,” Sports.ru suggested.
Photos posted by the publication showed some Russia fans holding full trash bags in the stands. One social media user who took part in the campaign said it only took “two minutes” to collect two bags full of trash.
A post on the popular online forum Pikabu.ru noted that fans in Novosibirsk also cleaned up after themselves at a public fan zone. Some commenters, in response, posted photographs of a littered fan zone in Moscow.
In Kirov, a user posted a photograph of the word “Spasibo!” (“Thank You!”) spelled out on the ground with trash.
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