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| Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino react next to the 2018 FIFA World Cup trophy after the final match between France and Croatia on Sunday in Moscow, Russia. Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA-EFE |
By TASS
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked all, from football fans to volunteers, who helped make a real festival of football throughout the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
[post_ads]"Some fans are emotional, but as it turned out they are responsible people. I was even surprised to see it," he told journalists after the World Cup final match. "I am very thankful to them. I want to thank them for their attitude to this event."
He said that it was due in large part to the fans that the world championship had become a real festival of football.
Putin offered special thanks to the "coaches and specialists, to the team," who "inspired all the fans to take football as a festival." The Russian president also thanked organizers.
"Hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers were engaged in all the host cities. I would like to thank them as well, because they welcomed out guests, accompanied them, with the smile on their faces, always kind-heartedly," Putin noted, adding that the page where Russia is pictured as a hostile country and its citizens as gloomy and unfriendly people should be turned over.
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