Man City condemn 'shocking' attack on Foden family after his mother was punched

Manchester City have condemned a 'shocking and appalling' attack on Phil Foden's family at the Kell Brook-Amir Khan bout.

Social media footage shows an assailant punching Foden's mother, Claire, backstage after the City forward had been harassed and verbally abused in a corridor at Manchester's AO Arena.

Foden was subjected to a string of obscenities, including a homophobic slur, as he was led back to the family's private lounge in one of two incidents.

The 21-year-old told fellow guests of the abuse from a number of individuals outside their door before family members emerged to confront the group.

The incident escalated, with Foden's mother Claire hit in the face. Another member of Foden's group later picked up a fire extinguisher as they attempted to defend the player.

'The club is aware of a video which has circulated on social media showing Phil Foden and his family being harassed and abused,' a City statement read.

'We are shocked and appalled about the nature of the abuse and ensuing assault on one of Phil's family members. We will continue to give Phil and his family all the support and assistance they need.'

Foden was briefly involved when coming to his mother's aid as she was surrounded and the encounter became more fraught.

It is thought that girlfriend Rebecca Cooke, who remained at the back of the scuffle, told him to retreat by calling him by his nickname, Ronnie.

Another video, seemingly involving a separate set of assailants, saw the family forcing their door shut as a result of abuse.

The clip — which came with the words, 'Phil Foden running scared from the Bradford lads. I just slapped Phil Phoden the lil Man City p****' shows a man screaming outside the Fodens' box.

He shouts: 'Bring him out, bring the motherf***** out. Smelly b******. Bring that little p**** out.' Greater Manchester Police said they had not received a report of an incident at the venue.

Online footage, which contains laughter from behind the camera, was uploaded to Twitter. Foden had been hurled with abuse, including the use of 'c***' and 'f*****'.

The England man is not viewed as the instigator and City offered their unequivocal backing to him, with the family said to have suffered considerable distress.

Sources at the club have noticed a growing trend of footballers being targeted when out on social occasions. Saturday night’s scenes raised questions as to whether more players should hire private security at functions.

A number of Pep Guardiola’s squad were in attendance at the boxing event following their dramatic 3-2 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the night.