Footballer Wu Lei defends boy abused by rival fans while wearing his No 7 China jersey

Chinese international, who plays for Shanghai Port, takes to social media to track down boy and his father, who were attacked by Shenhua fans

Chinese international star Wu Lei has come to the defence of a young football fan harassed by rival supporters, taking to social media to track down the boy who was targeted outside the stadium simply for wearing his national team jersey.

The incident occurred on Tuesday night after Shanghai Shenhua suffered a 3-0 home defeat against Beijing Guoan in a rescheduled Chinese Super League match.

Following the game, the young supporter, wearing Wu’s No 7 national team shirt, was leaving Shanghai Stadium with his father when they were surrounded and verbally abused by several fans wearing Shenhua jerseys.

Video footage showed hostile fans pointing at the pair and shouting insults, including asking if the child was “out of his mind”.

The bewildered boy was shielded by his father, who ushered him away from the scene as quickly as possible. The exact trigger for the altercation remained unclear.

While Wu has long worn the No 7 shirt for China’s national team, he is also the marquee star for Shanghai Port, Shenhua’s bitter crosstown rivals, between whom supporter hostility is common.