If exiting the tournament at the group stages was not bad enough, Russia’s World Cup squad must now also deal with an orthodox priest describing their decision to wear brightly coloured boots as a “homosexual abomination”.

Alexander Shumsky made the wild assertion in a column for Russian People’s Line, a Christian website. He claimed that by wearing boots that were, among other colours, green, yellow, pink and blue, the Russia players were promoting the “gay rainbow” during their shorter-than-expected stay in Brazil.

“Wearing pink or blue shoes, [the squad] might as well wear women’s knickers or a bra,” Shumsky wrote. “The liberal ideology of globalism clearly wants to oppose Christianity with football. I’m sure of it.

“Therefore I am glad that the Russian players have failed and, by the grace of God, no longer participate in this homosexual abomination.”

Russia, under the charge of the former England manager Fabio Capello, finished third in Group H after drawing with South Korea and Algeria and losing to Belgium.