Man Utd fan rushed to hospital with horror injuries and ‘lucky to be alive’ after rival ‘attacks him over tattoo’
A MANCHESTER UNITED fan has been left with horror injuries after being attacked during a family holiday in Turkey.
Kian Hoey, 19, was punched in Marmaris after going for drinks with friends.
The nuclear power plant security worker had been at a bar on October 3 to watch United’s Champions League defeat to Galatasaray.
Kian, who was not wearing a United shirt. then walked home with his pals along the marina.
It was then that he and his friends were approached by a group of seven men and started to speak about the match.
He says that one of the men spotted his United tattoo before he was approached from behind and punched.
The punch was so hard that Kian broke his jaw on both sides and suffered cracked teeth.
Photos from after the attack show Kian in hospital on October 5 after undergoing five-and-a-half-hour surgery to fix his jaw.
His jaw will now be wired shut for a month whilst it heals.
Meanwhile, his friends suffered cuts and bruises in the attack.
Kian, from Egremont, Cumbria, said: “In the moment I was more shocked than anything when I could feel my jaw was broken.
“The group attacked me and my two best mates when we were walking home from the bar.
“There was no provocation for the attack as none of us had Manchester United shirts on but they must’ve overheard us talking about the game and understood that we were fans.
“I remember talking to them about the game and even saying ‘it was a good game you were the better side’ but as we were walking away we were attacked from behind.
“I believe I’m lucky I didn’t go down from the punch or I wouldn’t be here right now.
“With the tattoo being on my calf I feel like when I was walking away they saw it and got a better understanding that I was definitely a Manchester United fan.
“I feel quite good now it’s a few days after [the attack] and I’ve come to terms with what happened.”
Following the attack, Kian was found by his mum in his hotel room after texting her what had happened.
He was covered in blood, with the hotel doctor checking him over before sending the teenager to hospital.
Brenda Hoey explained: “When I received that text saying they had been jumped I felt physically sick.
“When we saw him in the hotel room after the attack there was blood all over him, on the bedsheets and all over the towels in the bathroom. The attack has scared him, it could have been a lot worse.
“I could have been coming home without a son and when I got the text message [about the jumping] I thought the worst. If he had fallen to the ground it could have killed him.”
Kian spent four days in hospital before being discharged on October 9.
He finally flew home from Turkey on Wednesday with his dad.
The attack has been reported to local police, with an investigation into the incident being opened.
Kian’s insurance has paid out £4,200 to cover the cost of his hospital bills and operation.
However, a GoFundMe page has also been launched to cover the flights home and other costs.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We are in contact with the local authorities about a British man who was hospitalised in Turkey.”
The Turkish Police have yet to provide a comment on the attack.