TWO Greek men were assaulted in York city centre in an apparent race attack after an international football match.

Police said the victims - mistaken for Turks - were insulted, spat at and assaulted soon after the England-Brazil friendly match.

Their attacker went berserk, butting and punching their car in a bustling street before turning his attention to the two men.

Bystanders were forced to intervene and restrain the man to prevent the situation escalating further. The attack follows others around the country where Turks - or those mistaken for them - have been targeted in revenge for the deaths of two Leeds Utd supporters in Istanbul.

A spokesman for York's Racial Equality Network today said the incident was just the tip of the iceberg and that racial assaults were common in the city, but went unreported because of lack of confidence in the police and fear of reprisals.

The incident happened at 5pm on Saturday on Goodramgate, near King's Square, as football fans were leaving pubs after the match.

Sergeant Colin Ventress of York police said the two men were driving slowly down Goodramgate in a red Vauxhall Astra when a white man stepped in front of the car.

"He started to punch and headbutt the car and shout racial abuse at the occupants," said Sgt Ventress.

"The driver and passenger of the car then got out of the vehicle, at which point the man became violent and had to be restrained by members of the public."

He broke free and continued to threaten and abuse the two Greek men, and threw two punches at them. They then struck out in self-defence and the altercation was again broken up by bystanders.

As the driver and passenger were getting back in the car, the man spat at one of them and kicked the vehicle, causing damage. He then punched a window and lay on the bonnet of the car before police arrived and arrested him.

Sgt Ventress said a number of witnesses had already come forward, but that police were interested in particular in speaking to people who saw the start of the disturbance.

He added: "Police in York will deal firmly with any incident of disorder, and particularly those that have an apparent racial motivation."

Peter Singh, development officer for York's Racial Equality Network, said there was a high rate of racially-motivated incidents in York, but that they often went unreported.

"This is because there is little confidence among ethnic communities in the police and because the victims fear retribution if they report an attack," he said.

A man has been arrested and released on police bail.