Zorya Luhansk's chief executive unleashes scathing attack on the city of Manchester
Gossip & Rumours
By
Mirror
| Oct 07, 2016
Zorya Luhansk's chief executive has made a scathing attack on the city of Manchester just weeks after Man United defeated the Ukrainian side 1-0 in the Europa League.
Sergei Rafailov called the city dirty and claimed it was full of drunks and men kissing in the street.
Instead of backtracking on his homophobic rant though, Rafailov has doubled down by repeating his views on his club's official website.
"Manchester is a dirty city, full of drunks and men kissing in the street," Rafailov told the BBC North West Tonight.
"When we were in England we were only in Manchester and I did not like the city," he added through his club's official website. "It was very dirty. Near the hotel, which was, incidentally, in the city centre, there were homeless people sleeping on the pavement at night.
"I went out for a walk in the evening and went a little further from the centre. It was even worse there. Masses of drunk people.
"It was bizarre for me to see men walking down the street and kissing. I did not like it.
"I would suggest we think about European integration 20 times [before accepting it].
"I would not like my grandchildren to go outside and see men kissing and homeless people sleeping in the centre of the city."
The comments are likely to stoke tensions ahead of the return game in Luhansk on December 8.