FIFA World Cup 2018: Japan, Senegal fans win hearts by cleaning up rubbish in stands after teams’ victories

Japan and Senegal may have caused a stir on Tuesday after eking out victories against Colombia and Poland respectively, but it was their fans who truly won hearts after both sets of fans were captured cleaning up the rubbish left behind by spectators in the stands after their matches. Videos which surfaced on social media, and have since gone viral, on Wednesday showed fans cheerily cleaning up the stands after matches. A clip tweeted by Argentinian TV channel TyC Sports, which has been subsequently viewed over five million times and has been retweeted by more than 20,000 people, shows fans scouring through seats at Otkrytie Arena for rubbish and then assembling them in a pile.

TyC Sports’ tweet reads: “Senegal achieved a historic triumph. But their fans instead of celebrating minutes after the game are responsible for cleaning their sector before leaving #Respect.” The scene at Saransk, where Japan faced Colombia, was no different. According to a report on the website of BBC, Japan fans have a history of cleaning up in the stands after matches.

On Tuesday, media reports said that fans had actually carried large rubbish bags with them into the stands to meticulously put the waste. An article on the website of The Independent even pointed out that even in the last edition of the World Cup, Japan fans were spotted doing the same thing. Back then media reports noted how during Japan’s 1-2 defeat against Didier Drogba-led Ivory Coast at Recife’s Arena Pernambuco, their fans patrolled their side of the stadium with garbage bin liners to round up discarded rubbish.