Russia cancels World Cup visas for Socceroos fans on eve of tournament
THE federal government and Football Federation Australia are investigating why soccer fans have had their visas for the World Cup in Russia cancelled.
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THE federal government and Football Federation Australia are investigating why several Australian soccer fans’ visas to attend the World Cup in Russia have been cancelled without warning.
Supporters heading to Russia for the World Cup, which starts on June 14, have been each given a “Fan ID”, which allows them to enter the country 10 days before the first match and stay until 10 days after the final.
But a group of Socceroos supporters told the ABC they had received emails from Russian authorities that said their Fan IDs had been cancelled after they had spent thousands of dollars on tickets and travel arrangements.
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The Herald Sun understands the Russian government has not blackballed all Australian supporters who plan to fly in for the World Cup, and the visa issue is not believed to be widespread.
But Football Federation Australia is liaising with the federal government to get to the bottom of the issue, and to find out how many fans have been affected.
Travellers can face difficulties obtaining visas to travel so Russia employed the Fan ID system — in which the passes are only granted to ticketholders — which was supposed to simplify the process.
Socceroos fan Aaron Camm told the ABC that going to the World Cup was “a dream come true” — until he got an email saying his Fan ID application had been rejected.
He said he had not received an explanation except that it could be cancelled at any time.
Fellow supporter Reuban Garlett also said his Fan ID had been cancelled and could not understand why.
“I’m trying to wrack my brain and think what have I done,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop declined to comment today. The Russian embassy did not respond.
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