Swedish celebrity chef Anders Vendel condemns media coverage after being 'beaten for looking like Donald Trump'

Chef says he suffered multiple broken bones and bruising following the assault in Malmo

The celebrity chef was allegedly beaten up for resembling the President-elect (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A Swedish chef who claims he was beaten by three men for “looking like Donald Trump” has condemned “scary” international media coverage of the attack.

Anders Vendel, a popular TV star and celebrity chef, said he was attacked by three Muslim men who bound his arms behind his back and punched him 20 times in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The assault, at a fast food outlet in Malmö, left him with a broken nose and severely bruised eye, mouth and jaw and is under investigation by police.

In a Facebook post, which has since been deleted, Mr Vendel wrote: “I’ve been in the emergency room for a couple of hours waiting for X-rays. I was beaten up by three Muslim men between the ages of 25-35. They thought I bore a resemblance to Mr Trump.“

“Two of the men grabbed my arms from behind and the third one started punching me all over the face. I tried to defend myself with my legs. After receiving about 20 punches to my face, I fell down to the floor.

“All three then started kicking me as much as they could in my face and head. I now have a broken nose, bruises, a black eye, mouth, lips and jaw. Even a broken right thumb.”

The story was swiftly picked up around the world, on both mainstream news outlets and right-wing anti-immigration and anti-Islam blogs.

Mr Vendel told The Local he found the way the incident was being used abroad “scary”, emphasising the attackers’ supposed religion without attempting to contact him.

“I was angry, hurt and humiliated when I wrote what I was thinking at the time,” the chef said.

“I'm absolutely not a racist, not after what happened either. It could have been anyone. I'm alive – it will be ok.”

Mr Vendel he said he assumed the men were Muslims because he heard them speaking Arabic but could not be certain.

A spokeswoman for local police told Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan: “The plaintiff was visiting a fast food restaurant and a stranger came up and started to hassle him.

“This resulted in a scuffle, and the unknown man hit the plaintiff with clenched fists.

“He fell to the floor and was kicked and received injuries to his face. He then was helped to the hospital”.

She gave no information about the identity of Mr Vendel’s attackers or the motivation for the attack.

It came just days after Mr Trump’s shock victory prompted outrage and anxiety across the world.

Protesters demonstrated outside Trump Tower in Manhattan for several days last week chanting slogans in support of abortion rights and immigration.

The Republican provoked controversy in his divisive campaign by vowing to ban all Muslims from entering the US – a pledge from which he later backtracked – a public feud with the family of a Muslim US soldier killed fighting in Iraq and over warnings his rhetoric is a gift to recruiters for Isis and other jihadi groups.