Cameroon footballers ordered to leave Russia after being caught attempting to stay illegally
Fifteen footballers from Cameroon and one from Belgium have been detained in the Crimean village of Ordzhonikidze after being caught attempting to stay in the country illegally.
The players from FC Yaounde II, the second string of Cameroon premier division side FC Yaounde, were taking part in the Open Winter Cup organized by the Crimean Football Union (CFU) in February.
For the duration of the tournament, which took place in various regions of Crimea from February 8 to 25, the players were staying in Alushta on the southern coast of Crimea.
When the tournament ended, the organizers took the players to the airport, after which they absconded.
“In the course of an organized search party, national border security uncovered 15 Cameroonian nationals and one Belgian national," the Crimean border control said in a statement, c-inform.info reported.
“During questioning of the foreign nationals who had been living in the village of Ordzhonikidze, in the Feodosiya region, it was established that the documents of the illegal migrants were in order, however their Russian visas were long out of date.”
The Feodosiya region court fined the men 2,000 rubles ($35) and ordered them to leave Russian territory within 10 days.
