Russian footballer's 'Putin provocation' brought to UEFA

A Lokomotiv Moscow footballer increased the tension in the crisis between Russia and Turkey by removing his shirt at the end of a match with Turkey's Fenerbahçe football team in Istanbul to reveal a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Midfielder Dmitri Tarasov's cut-off T-shirt depicted Putin in a navy cap with the words “most polite president" printed below.

For Tarasov's provocative act, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) asked that Lokomotiv Moscow team take disciplinary action against him.

However the team claimed that the player's act was an individual gesture which they had been unaware of beforehand.

Any political or religious propaganda is strictly prohibited by UEFA regulations.