Moscow:  A man walked up to a journalist broadcasting live from a Moscow park on a popular Russian television channel and punched him in the face.

The journalist was reporting on Wednesday for the NTV channel from the park, which was filled with former paratroopers lazing in the sun as Russia celebrated the annual Airborne Troops Day. He was approached by a burly, bearded man in a tee-shirt and shorts, spewing curses at him.

The journalist, Nikita Razvozzhayev, asked the man to keep away.

The man then delivered a right hook to the journalist’s face and walked off. The network cut the broadcast.

The attacker, who Russian media said was drunk, was arrested shortly afterwards. Police described him as a known soccer hooligan.

Angry social media users blamed the incident on paratroopers, labelled in Russia as a rowdy bunch who drink in public places, bathe in fountains and harass passers-by.