ST. PETERSBURG, August 6 (R-Sport) - Zenit St. Petersburg manager Luciano Spalletti is hoping "common sense" will prevail in the club's appeal of the apparent mistaken-identity dismissal of Brazil star Hulk.
When a free kick was taken too quickly for the referee's liking in Saturday's 3-1 Russian Premier League win over FC Volga, the forward was shown a second yellow card despite replays showing that it was not Hulk but Roman Shirokov who had transgressed.
The Russian FA's disciplinary committee will examine the Gazprom-backed club's appeal on Wednesday.
"My expectations of a decision from [the committee] are that the members will be driven by common sense, and if a mistake has been made, then it should be recognized," Spalletti said Tuesday.
The game was held up for seven minutes as Zenit protested the decision, and Spalletti himself was sent to the stands for overly vociferous remonstrations at half time.
Hulk, 27, has been linked with a wealth of clubs during the summer transfer window including AS Monaco, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
He should be Spalletti's squad for Wednesday's Champions League qualifier against Danish side Nordsjaelland. The Russians lead 1-0 after the first leg of the third-qualifying-round tie.
