From Russia with love: Graffiti artist's incredible Burnley FC mural is a 'gift to all Clarets fans'

Artem (28), who hails from the Russian port city, had little interest in football before a bet on a Burnley game during the 2016/17 season led to him falling in love with the Clarets.

The season before, he had been watching Leicester take on Manchester City with a group of friends when he decided he was going to place a bet on a game.

He spent months researching the history of the Premier League, slowly coming to understand the "beauty of the game".

Armed with his new found knowledge, and a growing appreciation of the sport, he decided his first flutter would be on Burnley's home game with Watford in the September.

He didn't back the Clarets though, instead going for the Watford win and what he thought would be "some easy money".

"Up until I was 20 years old I hated everything that I couldn’t understand," said Artem, whose nickname is Johnny Napricole. "And I considered football as a game for imbeciles.

"After the Leicester v Man City game I started studying the English Premier League; its history, jokes. I started imagining what it was like when you play at a jam-packed stadium in front of thousands of fans; when you feel the vibe that the stadium gives off. I finally started to understand the beauty of the game.

"I started to look for a match that I could place a bet on. Out of the blue that match turned out to be Burnley v Watford. Watford was on a rise beating everyone they played against. Burnley looked like a desperate outsider.

"I placed a one thousand rubles (about £15) bet on Watford. I was expecting to make some easy money. I didn’t even know which team was in what jersey. I was watching the game and thinking: the guys in the red and blue jerseys are doing a good job. As it turned out those guys were playing for Burnley. Burnley won 2-0.

"Obviously I lost my money. I decided to keep an eye on these guys. That season Burnley played at home as if the stadium was a castle. And I was able to make some money off this fact. By the end of the season I realised that I had started watching all of their games. I thought it would be neat to cheer for an average team."

While all Johnny's friends support the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, he has fallen in love with Burnley, who he calls a "true English team".

"I especially liked watching the match where Сhelsea lost the first game of the season to Burnley (after their league-winning season), and where Man United, two seasons in a row, couldn't make a win against Burnley. The comment sections after such games make me laugh a lot.

"I feel in love with Burnley. A club from a town with a population of 70,000 people, where the whole team costs less than a Man United midfielder. A club that plays simple football but yet causes a lot of problems for other teams. The club has an English manager, two-thirds of the players are from England."

The idea for the giant Burnley FC mural featuring Sean Dyche and Ashley Barnes came about because he wanted to present Clarets fans with a gift.

He spent two days working on the painting in October.

"I often see football murals in my city – more for Zenith, but you can find pieces for Barcelona, Man United, Juventus, and most famous clubs. One time I just thought, 'Wtf, I'm a graffiti writer and a Burnley fan – I must do this'.

"Since childhood, I have painted graffiti, and although I am already 28 years old, I still do it (must be the wind in my head). I was looking for a spot to draw, walking along the railway tracks and looked at the Zenit fan graffiti (in Saint Petersburg everyone is a Zenit fan). And then all of the sudden an idea popped in my head. I don’t know how things are with Burnley fan graffiti, but to make such a thing in Russia...damn it, everyone will go nuts."

Artem filmed himself painting the mural and found the perfect soundtrack to accompany his video when he came across the grime track recorded last year in Ashley Barnes' honour by Clarets fan Bacchus.

"It was necessary to choose a song for the background of the video – this is not an easy task," said Artem, whose idol is, of course, Ashley Barnes. "But at some point I came across a rap song on YouTube with a couple of thousand views that some English ghetto rapper recorded about Ashley Barnes.

"I hope this will be a good gift to the team, and will cheer everyone up. Good luck in the Premier League. Burnley should make it for the Europa League qualifications I'm sure. The guys can do anything."

Artem's YouTube channel can be found here