Vladimir Putin T-shirt lands Moscow midfielder in trouble

In Lokomotiv Moscow​'s Europa League match against Fenerbahce, Dmitri Tarasov displayed his shirt with a message hailing Putin.

New Delhi: A seemingly purported tribute to the Russian President Vladimir Putin has landed a Lokomotiv Moscow player in trouble following their Europa League match in Turkey.

Midfielder Dmitri Tarasov removed his team jersey at the end of the game against Fenerbahce in Europe`s second-tier club competition in Istanbul on Tuesday, revealing a picture of Putin and the words: "The most polite president".

However, Tarasov's proclamation didn't go down well with the club, which described the 28-year-old' action as "inexcusable.

After the match, the player reportedly said that "This is my president. I respect him and decided to show that I am ready to support him wherever I am. I wrote on this T-shirt everything that I wanted to say."

In reaction to the player's comments, the club released a statement.

"Unfortunately, the club`s staff were unable to prevent this incident as the footballer had not informed anyone of his plans. What Dmitri did was inappropriate and damages the club`s and his own reputation," the club said.

"Tarasov will be fined in accordance with his contract with Lokomotiv," it added.

In between, the Europe's soccer`s governing body, UEFA has reportedly provisioned to ban Tarasov for a minimum of 10 matches and Lokomotiv also facing sanctions.

Lokomotiv lost the match 2-0 in the first leg of the last-32 tie.

It can be mentioned that UEFA fined Barcelona 30,000 euros after their Champions League final victory over Juventus during which the club`s supporters displayed banners with calls for Catalonia to gain independence from Spain.