Club Brugge supporters who wore ‘mankinis’ made famous by the satirical character Borat during their team’s Champions League match against Kairat Almaty on Tuesday have been jailed for five days in Kazakhstan for disrespect, Belgian media reported on Thursday.
The trio was arrested in the stands of the Astana Arena wearing the swimwear worn by English actor-comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in his film: «Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan», which mocks Kazakhstan and the United States.
More than 500 Club Brugge supporters made the journey of almost 6,000 km (3,700 miles) to watch the trio strip down to the thin, luminous green costume in the stands on Tuesday before being taken away by police.
“Three men committed acts during a football match that showed disrespect and disrupted public order,” said a statement from Astana police, reported by Belgian media on Thursday.
“Police officers arrested three foreign fans and took them to a police station.”
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Police also said administrative proceedings had been initiated for public drunkenness and petty hooliganism. They were sentenced to five days in jail on Wednesday.
The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was monitoring the situation. «We are providing the necessary consular support to our compatriots. However, for privacy reasons we cannot provide any further information,» their statement said.
Baron Cohen’s portrayal of Borat, a fictional journalist from the former Soviet state, plays on Westerners’ stereotypes about the Central Asian country. The 2006 film sparked anger in Kazakhstan, where authorities discouraged its screening and threatened legal action over what they saw as an insult to the film’s national character.
Published on January 22, 2026
