The head coach of the Russian football club Zenit, Sergei Semak’s wife, Anna Semak, reported on her Telegram channel how they had violated EU sanctions. She said that they were detained at the airport in Munich.
According to Anna Semak: “I don’t know how long we were held there, but they forced us to pay a large fine for a few pairs of shoes, some glasses, and a scarf. We had to leave all our things we purchased in Europe behind (we gave them to a friend who lives in Germany to take care of). The new law says that Russian citizens can’t export any items from Europe worth more than 300 euros.”
What Anna means by “new law” is actually the sanctions imposed by the EU in March 2022, which banned the import of luxury goods from Europe into Russia worth more than €300.
Zenit is a Russian football club based in St. Petersburg, which plays in the Premier League. It won the 2007/08 UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. The club is owned by Gazprom PJSC, a Russian energy company that is more than 50% owned by the state.
