MOSCOW, November 1 (R-Sport) – Russian Premier League football team Spartak Moscow offered a reward Friday for information on fans who displayed a Nazi swastika flag at their last match.
The incident at Wednesday’s cup game with second-tier Shinnik Yaroslavl occurred the same day as European football’s governing body UEFA handed a partial stadium ban to CSKA Moscow for “racist behavior” by their fans at a Champions League game.
In a website appeal to find the “unknown provocateurs” who displayed the Nazi flag in a section occupied by Spartak fans, the club said: “We address everyone who has trustworthy information about the individuals who committed this criminal offense with a request to present it to Spartak Moscow FC’s security service.”
“A reward is guaranteed,” the club said in its statement.
The match between Spartak and Shinnik was marred by repeated crowd trouble, with 78 arrests made after brawls between rival fans and police.
During the second half, the match was stopped for almost half an hour as police used water cannon against fans who ripped up seats and hurled them at officers. Spartak eventually won 1-0 thanks to a Dmitry Kombarov penalty.
Under Russian FA statutes, Spartak could get a home stadium ban of up to three matches over the unrest, while UEFA could also take action.
An FA disciplinary meeting is expected Friday.
Russia introduced legislation from President Vladimir Putin over the summer aimed at curbing misbehavior at sports events, ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 football World Cup.
