Belarus champions boost plummeting crowds with modelsLeague plays on amid supporter boycottsThey don’t chant, they don’t move, and they mostly wear the wrong colours. They’re not even real. The defending Belarusian league champions, Dynamo Brest, have started boosting their home crowds with mannequins in football shirts and adorned with the faces of virtual fans who bought tickets online.
Belarus is the last country in Europe still hosting professional sport in front of spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic, but attendances are shrinking as supporters decide the stadium is too risky.