A spokesperson for Belgium’s foreign ministry told POLITICO on Thursday that it was “monitoring” the case together with the Belgian embassy in Astana. “We are providing our fellow citizens with the necessary consular support,” the spokesperson said.
British actor Sacha Baron Cohen created the character Borat, a fictional Kazakh journalist, in a satirical TV show that lampooned attitudes in the U.K. and the U.S. A 2006 movie adaptation, in which Cohen appeared as Borat in a neon-green mankini, became an international hit.
The movie initially angered Kazakh officials, who banned it. Years later, Kazakhstan’s then-foreign minister said he was “grateful” for the character’s role in attracting tourists, and when a second film was released in 2020 the country embraced Borat’s catchphrase “Very nice” in tourism campaigns.
Club Brugge won the match 4-1, keeping it alive in the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s top football competition.