England fan who vandalised statue is son of ex-royal equerry
AN England fan who vandalised a monument honouring a dead Russian footballer is the son of the Queen Mother’s former equerry.
Rufus Hall, 20, a university student, was yesterday flying back home after being fined £35 by a Moscow court for scrawling the word ‘England’ in red paint on the statue in Moscow.
He was forced to publicly apologise in a YouTube video posted by Russian police.
The business management undergraduate is the son of Niall Hall, a former captain in the Irish Guards who served as an equerry to the Queen Mother at Clarence House in London in the 1980s. Mr Hall, 57, said his son was ‘mortified’ after his reckless behaviour, which later went ‘viral’ on social media.
He told The Daily Telegraph: ‘He is extremely remorseful. He is feeling very sorry for himself and on his way home in accordance with his plans. He really does deeply regret it.’
The England fan, who attended a £26,000-a-year prep school in Northamptonshire, had travelled to Moscow with some friends for the last 16 match against Colombia and it is thought they had been drinking. Russian social media users were angry at the graffiti scrawled on the chest of the likeness of a former Spartak Moscow player, Fyodor Cherenkov, who died aged 55 in 2014, and is a hero to Spartak fans after winning four national titles with the club.
It is understood the face paint was wiped off and left no traceable sign of damage. Later, Hall said: ‘I feel sorry, I feel embarrassed. I love this country. For the two days I have been here, your people have been welcoming. I wholly apologise.’
Mr Hall said his son had not been arrested or given a conviction.