Russian man severely beaten in downtown Moscow for wearing Manchester United jersey with Lukaku's name on it

In another case of sports rearing its ugly head, a Russian man was set upon by a mob of angry CSKA Moskva fans and severely beaten in downtown Moscow following the UEFA Champions League Group A match between their home side and Manchester United which the English team won quite comfortably by four goals to one thanks to a brace from Romelu Lukaku and a penalty from Anthony Martial and a strike from Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The reason why this happened? He was wearing a Manchester United jersey which featured Romelu Lukaku's name and number and was therefore called a "traitor."

The victim of the attack who only identified himself by his first name - Anatoly and 36 years of age, was speaking to reporters from the Gorki 8 Medical Clinic after he regained consciousness following the incident which left him with a broken nose, a nasty wound to the back of his head and two swollen eyes. His Manchester United shirt was also torn from his body.

"I have always been a big fan of Manchester United."

Anatoly said. His face and head heavily bandaged.

"Even though I am Russian I don't support Russian teams in European competitions because frankly speaking, they are not that good. Even the Russian Premier League, which is just a copy-cat name of the English Premier League, is quite boring. That's why on weekends I always ignore the National League and stream the English Premier League online. I love watching Man U play. I even have a pet cat named Lukaku."

He went on:

"I am on vacation right now and this night I decided to take in the Champions League match in one of my favorite spots to hang out in Moscow - Mollie's Pub. I decided to wear my Manchester United jersey with my favorite player - Lukaku's name and number - 9. But I know for a fact that the pub would have been pro-CSKA Moskva so I decided to wear a large coat over the jersey so no one can see it. I also had to contain my excitement whenever Man U scored. Thankfully Lukaka did not disappoint."

He continued:

"After the game I was leaving the pub and decided to take off the coat that I had on because I thought that it was safe to do so. Boy was I wrong. I heard someone behind me say: "Is that a red devil jersey this traitor has on? Let's get him." And before I had time to run away, I felt a beer bottle crash against the back of my head. I fell down due the force of the blow. How on earth I didn't die from the impact is a miracle. But I could feel the blood pouring down my head. Before I could stagger to my feet, a mob of about ten pro-CSKA supporters descended upon me."

Anatoly became emotional and sobbed openly as he continued to relate the sordid story:

"All I felt on my body were kicks and punches. They all looked like youths in their late teens or early twenties. One of the youths who had on a CSKA Moscow shirt was saying to me: "How can you wear that disgusting jersey with that monkey's name and number?" They continually kicked me in the face and even broke my nose. I begged them to stop but they just went on with their savage assault. My whole face was a bloody mess. I tried to open my eyes but I knew they were badly swollen. I was in so much pain. No one came to my assistance despite there being several witnesses. They even tore the jersey off my back and destroyed it. The next thing I knew was that I just passed out. When I regained consciousness I was in the hospital."

He then went on to express pessimism regarding the World Cup next year as he said:

"This people, is the harsh reality of living in Russia. While I do love my country, the fact of the matter is that a lot of Russians are very racist and they are not accepting of people of other races. So if you are Russian and support a football team that has a lot of black players and you are a fan of these black players, you are looked at in a negative light and are treated like this. That is why I don't know what FIFA was thinking when they decided to give Russia the right to host the World Cup next year. Those racists like the ones who attacked me tonight and many others who reside in Russia are going to embarrass this country with their savage behaviour. For this reason I will not be purchasing tickets to see any World Cup matches next year. Not even matches in which the national team will be playing. In fact, I would probably have more fun watching them lose on TV in the comfort of my own home."