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The Straits Times
The Straits Times
Sport
TOH TING WEI

Japan fans at World Cup earn plaudits for cleaning up Russian stadium

Videos posted on social media sites Twitter and YouTube showed cheery Japanese fans walking around the stands of the Mordovia Arena in Russia, picking up litter into placing them into blue thrash bags as they celebrated their nation's victory.PHOTO: TWITTER/PINKYS421

The Japanese football team secured a historic 2-1 victory against Colombia on Tuesday (June 19), and off the pitch, their fans have also won widespread acclaim after they stayed back back to clean up the stadium.

Videos posted on social media sites Twitter and YouTube showed cheery Japanese fans walking around the stands of the Mordovia Arena in Russia, picking up litter into placing them into blue thrash bags as they celebrated their nation's victory.

Social media users were unanimous in their praise of the fans' actions.

Twitter user Julie posted a video of the fans' act with the caption: "Japanese fans are the best!"

Another Twitter user Raymond, who retweeted a video of the clean up, said: "This is how you show the world your country when abroad! Respect."

It is not the first time the Japanese have been lauded for being considerate guests.

The fans were praised four years ago at the World Cup in Brazil, where their civic mindedness shone through despite Japan's struggles on the pitch then.

Closer to home, the Japanese fans were spotted picking up litter after a heavy 4-0 friendly defeat to Brazil at the Sports Hub in Singapore in 2014.

Senegal also earned similar plaudits online after their 2-1 victory against Poland on Tuesday.

A video posted on Twitter showed Senegal fans climbing over chairs at the Spartak Stadium to pick up litter, before consolidating them into a pile for easy collection. The video has garnered more than 3.27 million views.

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