In the aftermath of Manchester United's historic victory against Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League, a travelling Red Devils fan was stabbed on his way back by a Parisien taxi driver.
BBC has reported that the Foreign Office confirmed it was in contact with the French authorities over the incident. "We are in touch with the French authorities following an incident involving a British man in Paris on 6 March and stand ready to offer assistance if required," the Foreign Office said in a statement.
This incident happened on Wednesday night after United came back from a 0-2 deficit they suffered in the first leg at Old Trafford to beat PSG 3-1 at the Parc des Prices to go through to the quarterfinal of the Champions League on away goals.
The victim, a 44-year-old man, was travelling back to central Paris from the stadium with a few friends in a taxi. Outraged by the celebrations of the fans of the visiting team and irate at his team's ouster from the continental competition, the chauffeur first threatened the victim's co-passenger with a "large blade" before stabbing him in the chest.
"He was left lying on the pavement fighting for his life when one of the group was able to flag down a passing car and rush him to hospital. The United fan was taken straight to the High Dependency Unit at the Hospital Europeen Georges-Pompidou - and underwent on Thursday afternoon to remove blood on his lung," Sky Sports reported.
The hospital where the man has undergone surgery is a little less than a mile away and on the opposite side of the river from the Parc des Princes, the venue of the match. The same report also states that a man in connection with the crime has been arrested earlier today, March 8, but the weapon used in the assault is yet to be discovered. It is reported that the alleged offender took umbrage to the singing of the United fans in celebration of their victory.
Manchester United's victory against PSG is the first of its kind in the Champions League as no team has ever come back from a deficit of two or more goals to win the away leg and progress to the next round of the competition. It was the first time in 108 attempts such a feat was achieved and it was typically sealed by a Manchester bred striker Marcus Rashford in the 94th minute.
The victory tasted even sweeter for United fans as they had as many as ten first-team players missing from the game. This list included the starting midfield trio of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera apart from star attackers Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez. So depleted was the United squad that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to bring in four players from the academy and name them in the matchday squad.
One of them, Mason Greenwood, who came on as a late substitute is attending school today, March 8.
