Frankie Goes to Russia

Comedian Frankie Boyle is heading to Russia before the World Cup tournament begins to go behind the stereotypes and half-truths of Russian football and culture with his trademark provocative humour. What better person to send as a British envoy than a socially awkward, provocative comedian who is scared of flying and can only travel by car and train around the largest country on earth.

In this episode, Celtic fan Frankie goes in search of ordinary Russian football fans to find out if the game means as much to them as it does to him. He gets invited to watch a match in the corporate box of a wealthy Spartak Moscow fan, experiencing some casual racism and despairing of the soullessness of corporate hospitality. Comedian Frankie Boyle continues his travels in Russia ahead of the 2018 football World Cup. Watched by a global audience of two billion people, the tournament is a big opportunity for Russians to showcase their country, culture and sporting dominance. But Russian football is in a sorry state, with possibly the worst performing national team since the fall of the USSR and fans who are notorious for their racist chants and violence. What has happened in Russia to turn the beautiful game ugly? In this episode, Celtic fan Frankie goes in search of ordinary Russian football fans to find out if the game means as much to them as it does to him. He gets invited to watch a match in the corporate box of a wealthy Spartak Moscow fan, and despairs of the soullessness of corporate hospitality. Spartak is proud of its proletarian roots. Created by the Trade Union organisation in 1922 it became known as the people's team, although since it was taken over by a billionaire, its fortunes have been on the wane. With money flooding into the game of football across the world, Frankie discovers that in Russia, it is not just the premiership footballers who are cashing in. In the middle of Moscow's high-rise tower blocks, Frankie meets the street footballers who are selling their skills to the highest bidders, earning massive advertising endorsements. Heading out of the capital to the small industrial town of Shatura, Frankie is delighted to meet Celtic's biggest supporter, a Russian power-station worker who loves the Scottish team so much he changed his name to Denis McGoalach and formed his own Celtic team. Frankie can't resist the invitation to join th