Mexico shirts incited post-match family assault, says dad

A Mexican football fan says he and his two sons were assaulted by a group of England fans after the countries' World Cup match because he was wearing a Mexico shirt and his sons were dressed in half-England, half-Mexico shirts.

The dad, who wishes to remain anonymous for his safety, said he and his sons were "pushed and pulled" and "violently attacked" and told "to go back home" in Bristol city centre in the early hours of Monday.

He said: "As soon as we started walking home, we were just set upon by at least three groups of people. I have never felt that much danger in Bristol."

Avon and Somerset Police said officers had carried out "several enquires" as part of an ongoing investigation.

The family had joined more than 100 people from the Mexican community and Mexico football supporters at a pub in the city centre to watch the match.

Following a nail-biting game, which saw England battle Mexico to go through to the quarter-finals, the pub closed at about 04:00 BST and everyone left.

"It was a very strange feeling in Park Street. It was light, the sun was coming out and there were so many people on the streets," the father said.

"There were cars driving very fast, bottles being thrown - it just didn't feel right".

Despite misgivings, the family decided not to pay for a "horrendously expensive" taxi ride home and to walk instead.

"We thought, 'we're in Bristol, we're safe'," he said.

"As soon as we started walking [along Park Street], we were set upon by at least three groups of people.

"They started pulling our shirts, swearing at us, they tried to take my son's glasses off his face."

He said one of his sons, who was born in Bristol, was wearing his "half English, half Mexican" shirt and was "the one who was getting attacked more than anybody else".

"We were pushed up against the wall and they tried to throw punches at us," he said.

His son, who also wants to remain anonymous, said: "They were trying to make us not feel welcome.

"Shouting, 'little Mexicans, you need to go', basically things I'd call racist."

In a bid to cover up their shirts, he and one of his sons had jackets but his other son did not.

"[We] kept on walking down and then another group came on from across the street and again you could see they were trying to get to one of my sons," he said.

"As a dad, I had to step in and push them away. We did not throw any punches, but it was a really dangerous situation."

He said they called the police and, as the "groups were still nearby", they were able to point them out to officers.

"They did not stop to speak to any of the groups and they walked off," he said.

"We spoke to the officers and [they] told us to: 'keep walking through safer routes' and left us."

Neighbourhood Insp Chris Green, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "This is an awful incident which will have caused significant distress to the victims but, thankfully, they did not suffer significant physical injury."

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We remain in contact with the victims and have carried out several enquires as part of our ongoing investigation. "

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