Swarms of mosquitoes and midges bothered England players during their World Cup tie in Volgograd on Monday evening.

The players were instructed by the FA to apply high strength insect repellant liberally before the game but during the warm up Raheem Sterling could be seen swatting them away from his face.

After England’s 2-1 win, captain Harry Kane said: “There were a lot more than we thought. We had a lot of bug spray on, before the game, and at half-time. I got some [flies] in the eye, nose and some in my mouth.”

Praise for organisers and friendly Russians in Volgograd Read more

Fans, however, were not allowed to bring insect repellant into the Volgograd Arena because all liquids were confiscated at the gate as part of thorough security checks.

“I did not feel the midges because I was so focused on the team, on the game,” Tunisia’s Nabil Maaloul said.

It is understood the city of Volgograd, which is in the south west of the country, knew that the bugs – a mixture of mosquitoes and midges - would be a nuisance. Two days ago they deployed helicopters to spray the nearby marshland with pesticides.



City of Volgograd officials asked the Visit Russia tourism board to include in their guide to the city the fact they had “deployed chemical weapons” to target the insects. But it was pointed out to them, in light of the Sergei Skripal poisoning in Sailsbury, that this might not be the best choice of words.



It is thought that the pesticide did reduce the number of mosquitoes in the area over the weekend but they have returned with a vengeance and are wreaking havoc. Sky Sports News had to abandon a series of live interviews they had planned at the England team hotel on Sunday evening when their presenter Kaveh Solhekol was attacked by a swarm of bugs.



It is thought the position of the stadium, which is directly by the river Volga around which this city is built, might mean the number of bugs is even higher during the game on Monday evening.



The FA were aware of the potential issue of bugs in Volgograd having done a couple of reconnaissance visits to the city since the draw was made last December and England players are thought to be taking precautions before the game.

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At a fan zone, where supporters gathered to watch the games on a giant cinema style screen, security procedures mean liquids are banned. But officials relaxed regulations to allow people to bring insect repellant into the area because the problem is deemed to be so serious.



• This article was amended on 19 June 2018 because Volgograd is in the south west, not south east, of Russia.

