Those of us with an interest in both insects and the FIFA Football World Cup which is currently underway in Russia, will have been excited to see that Russian flies are also trying to get in on the soccer action. England players were allegedly mobbed in advance of their opening match against Tunisia in Volgograd by swarms of flying insects. According to this article, "Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard and Karry Maguire could be seen swatting flies from their faces as they attempted to warm-up, with Lingard even digging one out of his ear."
UK news media weren't spare the attentions of the flying attackers either. Earlier, Sky TV cancelled one live broadcast after their reporter was attacked.
England's team management had apparently prepared for this in advance, and had brought "Jungle Formula" insect repellent with them, which the players slapped on liberally. Eventually, it seems, the repellent had the desired effect in alleviating the players' distress, and play commenced. (The article doesn't mention whether any of the other teams in the competition have been as bothered by the midges as England were, or even noticed them.)
It's at least heartening, with all the pressure on insect populations worldwide, that insect swarms like this are still occurring in Europe from time to time. Some experts have speculated that the flies may have been Chironomidae (non-biting midges), which play a major role in processing human sewage and so help prevent our waterways from becoming polluted. See this article on The Conversation for a more midge-sympathetic view of the affair than can be found on English sports media!