THE Manchester United fan refusing to cut his hair until the team wins five games in a row had his hair grabbed by another supporter while visiting Old Trafford.
Frank Ilett, 29, started The United Strand challenge of not cutting his hair until the team wins five in a row on October 5 last year.
Since then, his hair has grown to more than 18cm in length which has brought viral fame as he also attempts to raise money for charity.
However, during a visit to Old Trafford for United’s clash with Chelsea, Frank was seen interacting with fans while in the stadium concourse.
In a video shared to social media, he was all smiles until another fan suddenly grabbed his hair before violently shaking it.
Frank is seen trying to move away from the fan as he starts to grab and continue to shake the hair.
Fellow supporters are seen intervening to separate them as the fan is restrained.
The angry fan then launches an X-rated blast towards Frank.
He is heard saying: “F*** off, f*** off, I’ll do what I f***ing want. Listen, he’s not a United f***ing fan, so f*** off, f*** off.”
The fan is then seen trying to make another move on Ilett, but is held back by fans.
It is not clear whether something specific sparked the confrontation by the furious fan.
However, ever the optimist, Frank did not appear to be too shaken as he posted on his social media later on to celebrate the win.
Sharing a picture of his hands stretched out wide, Frank said: “What a place. Wet hair, but still a smile on my face! A big win today! What a crazy game it was in the end! 1 down, 4 to go. COME ON UNITED!”
On the incident, Frank told SunSport 99 per cent of his interactions on the day were positive, and believed the fan was joking at first before he started yanking his hair.
He said: “Yeah, it was a bit weird to be honest! I thought he was just joking to start with, but then he started yanking my hair and calling me an ‘attention-seeking c***’.
“The whole day was full of hundreds of positive interactions yesterday and 99 per cent of all of the reactions to this challenge has been nice. But just a few people can ruin it!
“My intention with this challenge was never to highlight Man United’s flaws. It was always and always will be to spread humour and positivity to United fans in a difficult time.
“I never expected it to go on for so long, but I’m hopeful we can go on a good run soon and I, more than most…want these wins to come as soon as possible!
“I will always try to focus on the positives and hope that this was just a one off.”
Speaking before the season started, Frank exclusively told SunSport: “Every interaction I’ve had has been positive.
“I’m living in Spain, where I don’t think as many people know me, but there are still a few who come up to take photos with me, and when I visit England it’s a different world.
“I went to the United-Lyon game – seriously the best game I’ve been to live and I’m not sure it will ever be beaten – and I reckon while I was there I probably took over 200 photos with different people.”
Frank’s most recent United game prior to Chelsea was the thrilling 4-3 win over Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals.
He explained the reason he started the challenge was to “spread some joy”, and said the perfect ending would be to get it cut at Old Trafford.
However, defeat in the Manchester derby last week confirmed the challenge would carry on into a second year.
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