A 33-year-old man sustained grievous injuries after he claimed he was punched and kicked by Paceville bouncers "for no reason".

Sergio Ramírez Lesmes was celebrating Argentina’s World Cup triumph on Sunday and decided to continue celebrations at Native Bar, a reggaeton club frequented by the Latino community.  

However, Ramírez Lesmes says he was denied entry for no apparent cause. When he asked security at the door why they would not let him in, he was heavily beaten up.

“I thought I was going to die there,” Ramírez Lesmes said.  

Nose broken in three places

A hospital report described the Colombian photographer’s injuries as “grievous”, having had his nose broken in three places. 

Reacting to the incident, Native Bar said the club outsourced its security, and the matter had been referred to the concerned contractor. 

What was a happy time for the Messi fan soon turned to despair

Ramírez Lesmes, from Colombia, was supporting his continental representative, Argentina, in the world cup final, sporting an Argentina jersey on the day.  

Having watched Latin America’s triumph in a St Julian’s big screen venue, he went bar-hopping with his girlfriend and friends to celebrate.

At around 9.45pm, the group stopped at Native Bar, self-described as “the most popular Latino gem in Malta”.

He was wearing a cap and was asked by the bouncer at the door to take it off and show he was not hiding anything forbidden, he claims.  

He did so and proceeded to enter where he put the cap back on, Ramírez Lesmes said. 

However, a bouncer immediately kicked him out of the club, declining to give a reason why he was denied entry, the Colombian said.  

As the 33-year-old insisted on an explanation, he took a photo of the man who kicked him out of the club.  Suddenly he was punched in the face, leading him to fall, he said.   

He was then kicked and punched on the ground by several men, Ramírez Lesmes claims.

Ramirez Lesmes filed a police report on Monday afternoon.

Writing on Instagram, Ramírez Lesmes said, “those that beat me up had no motive for what they did”. 

Sergio Ramírez Lesmes took to Instagram to express his feelings after the beating

“The only explanation I have is that they confused me with someone else,” he told Times of Malta.

A spokesperson for Bar Native meanwhile told Times of Malta the venue "has a policy of zero tolerance to any form of violence".

"Bar Native outsources its security to a private company. Hence none of the Bar Native employees carries out the duties of security.

"The matter has been referred to the contractor concerned and we will be asking for his version of events and what steps he intends to take if these allegations are correct".

"We shall then take the appropriate steps once we have received the required information from their end," they added. 

Ramírez Lesmes Instagram stories from before the beating show glee at seeing Lionel Messi finally clinch the world cup.

However, his last story includes a photo of himself on a hospital bed and a long paragraph expressing the despair and shock he felt after the beating.