Man United supporters 'attacked' in Istanbul ahead of Europa League clash vs Fenerbahce

Manchester United fans say they were subjected to an attack by a group of Fenerbahce ultras on ahead of their Europa League match in Istanbul on Wednesday night.

Footage emerged on social media appearing to show hooligans targeting the travelling supporters, The Mirror reports. The Reds are poised to face Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce team on Thursday evening, but some fans have reported being assaulted by up to 50 ultras.

A video circulated by ultra groups on Twitter was captioned "This is Istanbul", and an image uploaded to Instagram depicted several men standing in front of two motorbikes, with the words: "On the first punch of a fight... Manchester is now truly RED :)."

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One fan described the harrowing ordeal to StrettyNews, a United fan site, saying: "About 50 of them swarmed us (a group of five). One lad followed me down a street and pretended to help before hitting me a shot into the jaw."

It is claimed that the GFB Bogaz ultras group appears to have orchestrated the assault on United fans, which occurred near the Grand Hisar Hotel, not far from Taksim Square – the site of the tragic incident where two Leeds United fans were fatally stabbed by Galatasaray supporters ahead of their UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000.

Turkish football has been marred by fan violence, highlighted when Fenerbahce players, including Bright Osayi-Samuel and Michy Batshuayi, were forced to fend off Trabzonspor fans who invaded the pitch last year. In another alarming episode, Ankaragucu's owner Faruk Koca stormed the field to assault a referee