Costume from China

As a fake mascot: Youtuber tricks UEFA

Youtuber Marvin Wildhage smuggled himself into the stadium dressed as the mascot "Albärt". (Picture top left: Youtuber Wildhage - picture right center: the real "Albärt".(Bild: APA/AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV, youtube.com/MarvinWildhage Screenshot)

Youtuber Marvin Wildhage dared to experiment and tricked UEFA. Dressed up as the mascot "Albärt", he got into the stadium for the opening match of the European Championship between Germany and Scotland in Munich without a ticket or accreditation.

The 27-year-old spent months preparing and had a costume of the official European Championship mascot "Albärt" from China made for him, which cost around 5,000 euros, he explains in his new YouTube video documenting the daring venture. His channel has 900,000 subscribers and the video has been clicked on around 1.5 million times within two days.

A fake parking permit, a DFB sticker on a VW sponsor vehicle, the employee ID of a freelancer who dropped out before the start of the tournament - Wildhage and his camera team put up with all of this in order to be present at the opening game. With success: the police waved them through. In the end, he stole the show from the real "Albärt" and danced on the pitch. A little later, however, the scam was uncovered. Wildhage was taken into custody by the law enforcement officers, he reported.

UEFA confirms incident - police investigate
UEFA confirmed on Monday that there had been "an incident involving a fake mascot costume" during Germany's 5-1 win over Scotland in the Munich Arena on Friday. Three people had gained unauthorized access to the stadium. "UEFA has evaluated the situation and initiated the necessary organizational measures," the governing body announced. The Munich public prosecutor's office is investigating for falsification of documents, fraudulent concealment of benefits and trespassing.

"Organizers sensitized"
"UEFA's security service has clearly failed here. This is a security risk," a police officer told Bild. And: "The Munich Police Headquarters is still in close coordination with the organizer and has sensitized him in particular with regard to the implementation of control tasks at the entrance to the stadium."

The fact is that the "European Championship experiment" will have far-reaching consequences for Wildhage and his YouTube team. Was it worth it? ...