On the pitch the football has been sublime. Off it, the World Cup in Russia will go down in history as the most sexist ever.

Female fans and broadcasters have been groped in the streets while there has been a bizarre trend for foreign supporters to film Russian women who have been tricked into repeating obscene songs and phrases. The harassment is being fuelled by social media with men posting videos of their ‘conquests’ on the internet.

Even major companies have indulged in blatantly sexist advertising. Burger King, or at least its Russian franchise, was forced to withdraw a promotion in which it offered Russian women a lifetime’s supply of its ‘Whopper’ burgers and three million roubles if they got pregnant by a World Cup footballer. Getty, the international picture agency also apologised for publishing a gallery of photographs titled “World Cup 2018: The Sexiest Fans.”