Since the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Moscow last Thursday, crowds of Chinese soccer fans have been flying into neighboring Russia for the quadrennial tournament. But as they landed in the host city, some unlucky fans would soon discover that their tickets were counterfeit.

　　自上周四莫斯科2018年国际足联世界杯开幕以来，大批中国球迷纷纷飞往邻国俄罗斯参加四年一度的世界杯。但是当他们降落在主办城市时，一些倒霉的球迷很快就会发现他们的票是假的。

　　Around 3,000 Chinese soccer fans were tricked into a ticket scam set up by a Russian company Anji MSK, a staff from Russian Embassy in China told Tencent’s sports channel last Saturday. It was reported that over 10,000 counterfeit tickets were sold around the world and the total value might exceed 100 million US dollars.

　　上周六，俄罗斯驻中国大使馆的一名工作人员在接受腾讯体育频道采访时表示，约3000名中国球迷被一家俄罗斯公司安吉设下的门票骗局欺骗。据报道，世界各地共售出1万多张假票，总价值可能超过1亿美元。

　　Though China’s national team failed to make it into the world tournament, soccer fans of the country showed unprecedented passion towards the game and purchased more than 40,000 tickets, FIFA reported.

　　据国际足联报道，尽管中国国家队未能进入世界杯赛，但中国球迷对比赛表现出前所未有的热情，购买了4万多张门票。

　　While most fans obtained tickets from FIFA’s official website or the organization’s partner in China, some fans purchased tickets through local travel agencies that partnered with Anji MSK. The Russian company claimed to own ticket sales right and managed to provide a letter of authorization from FIFA, China National Radio reports.

　　虽然大部分球迷是从国际足联官方网站或该组织在中国的合作伙伴那里购买门票，但也有一些球迷是通过与安吉合作的当地旅行社购买门票的。据中国国家广播电台报道，这家俄罗斯公司声称拥有售票权，并设法提供了国际足联的授权书。

　　But as the game’s opening day approached, Anji MSK could no longer be reached, and none of the promised tickets were delivered.

　　但随着比赛开幕日的临近，安吉无法再联系上，承诺的球票也没有寄来。

　　After receiving a stunning number of complaints from Chinese travel agencies and soccer fans, Russian Embassy in China launched an inquiry with Russia’s foreign ministry and was told the alleged authorization letter was illegitimate.

　　在接到中国旅行社和球迷，数量惊人的投诉后，俄罗斯驻华大使馆与俄罗斯外交部展开了调查，并被告知这封所谓的授权书是非法的。

　　On Saturday night, when Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi missed a penalty as his team played against Iceland, approximately 30 soccer fans from southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality were left outside the stadium. Another 60 fans in Chongqing might face the same destiny as they prepared to leave for Russia without tickets.

　　周六晚，阿根廷球星梅西在对阵冰岛的比赛中罚失点球，中国西南部重庆市约30名球迷被留在体育场外。重庆还有60名球迷可能面临同样的命运，因为他们准备不带票前往俄罗斯。

　　The city’s travel bureau has reacted quickly to the scam and ordered the relevant Chinese travel agencies to set up compensation mechanism for customers.

　　市旅游局对这起诈骗事件迅速做出反应，并命令中国相关旅行社建立客户赔偿机制。

　　The Russian Embassy in China has issued two notices warning Chinese soccer fans about the scam and contacted Russia’s interior ministry for further investigation.

　　俄罗斯驻华大使馆已发出两份通知，警告中国球迷有关这一骗局，并联系俄罗斯内政部进行进一步调查。