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Russian football fan legally changes surname to British name for World Cup FAN ID

24 Jun, 2018 10:00
Russian football fan legally changes surname to British name for World Cup FAN ID
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/ RT

One Russian football fan went to great lengths to show his love for English football on the way to England's versus Panama match in Nizhny Novgorod - by legally changing his name to 'Wilson', the British name.

Twenty-four-year-old Maksim, known to friends as 'Max', has harbored a lifelong obsession with English football and when the World Cup threw up a chance to watch his heroes play in his home country, he jumped at the opportunity. 

READ MORE: Mourinho on England v Panama: Can Three Lions avoid ‘catastrophic’ defeat? (VIDEO)

Not content with simply buying tickets for England's match with Panama in Nizhny Novgorod, Max decided to show his fervent love for the county by legally changing his typically Russian name from to a more British version.

Born Maksim Vasilyev, the Three Lions fanatic changed his name to "Wilson", thus becoming known as "Max Wilson". Stunned supporters initially refused to believe the name-change, until Max proudly showed off his FAN ID.

Holding the document, Max announced: "I wanted more common English name for the FAN ID. It's a sign of how much I love English football."

"I really feel English. Some people say I am not, but it is so nice to see and to talk to my people," Max joked as he happily chatted to England fans on a train from Moscow to Nizhny for the game. 

"I wanted a real English name on FAN ID, so that I can show it to people and they will know I love England and English football," he added. 

Asked what he thought of Western media's attempts to dissuade British fans from visiting Russia for the World Cup with stories of Russian hooligans and violence, Max said: "I am glad English fans didn't listen, otherwise I would not get the chance to speak with them here in Russia."

Max, a fan of Russian Premier League side side Dynamo Moscow, will perhaps not be too impressed with the transliteration of his new surname. 

Those who issued the FAN ID - obligatory or every fan with a match ticket - transliterated "Wilson" from Russian to English, and ending up as "Uilson", a name slightly less common in British culture. 

Despite the error, Max is adamant that it's the thought that counts.