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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Vincent Whelan

Shamrock Rovers issue strong statement calling for fan detained in Bulgaria to be allowed home immediately

Shamrock Rovers have this morning issued a strong statement calling for supporter Daniel Fulham to be allowed home immediately.

The Hoops fan has been detained in Bulgaria since Wednesday after border police prevented him from crossing into Romania as they claimed he had a 'fake passport'.

It was alleged it was not him in his passport photo.

The club's statement said: "A Shamrock Rovers fan was held by Bulgarian border police when he was making the return journey to Bucharest with a group of other Hoops fans who had travelled to Razgard for the Champions league qualifier v Ludogorets on Tuesday night.

READ MORE: Shamrock Rovers fan detained in Bulgaria over alleged 'fake passport' and misses flight home

"Daniel Fulham is a long-standing club member and volunteer who has made many international journeys in his working and social life with the same passport as was presented to the border police.

"It is understood that the authorities questioned the validity of the photograph in matching Daniel's identity. The Department of Foreign Affairs are liaising on the matter in which there is no doubt about the validity of the passport, and we hope to see the matter closed as quickly as possible for Daniel to return home."

Daniel was part of a group of Hoops fans who had made the trip over to Bulgaria to cheer their side on in their Champions League qualifier against Ludogorets.

Ludogorets' stadium is notorious for being a very inaccessible place which led to them needing to fly into Romania before then travelling 140km by bus to Razgrad.

On Tuesday The Irish Mirror contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding Daniel's plight and received the following reply from a spokesperson:

"The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of reports and is providing consular assistance. As with all cases, the Department does not comment on the details of any specific case."

The Irish Mirror has also spoken to Rovers fans who know Daniel. They claim that Bulgarian authorities have received confirmation from both the Irish Passport Office and the Gardaí that his passport is legal and genuine but are still detaining him.

There's obviously widespread calls for Daniel to be released with Ireland's record goalscorer Robbie Keane among them.

The very latest indication has come from both Daniel himself and Rovers.

He tweeted: "Really appreciate all the concerns and incredible work from everyone involved to help me get home. I should be on a flight home to Dublin tonight."

While the club similarly stated: "Great news! Daniel has been released and is now in the process of making his way home. Thanks to a number of politicians and @dfatirl in getting this resolved quickly. The club has arranged and paid for the flight home and we look forward to seeing Dan at Saturday's game."

He's tweeted an encouraging message (Twitter)
Great to hear (Twitter)

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