Zenit St. Petersburg forward Hulk has claimed he was the victim of racial abuse from visiting Spartak Moscow fans on Saturday, the second such incident to rock the Russian Premier League in a week.
The 28-year-old Brazil international told a Russian newspaper that he could hear monkey chants from fans of the Moscow club during the 0-0 draw at Petrovsky Stadium.
"During the game, racist abuse was directed toward me from the Spartak section of the ground," Hulk was quoted as saying by the Sport Express newspaper on Wednesday.
"In the first half, I clearly heard monkey chants shouted in my direction and this was not only on one occasion. It was coming from a large group of people.
"This happened at least twice — midway through the first half and during injury time at the end of the first half.
"I take this as a personal insult for me and my club. I think that such things have absolutely no place and the football powers-that-be must take action in the fight against the occurrence of racial hatred."
Russian Football Union disciplinary committee chief Artur Grigoryants confirmed that racial abuse had taken place with the panel likely to explain what action it will be taking later on Wednesday.
"We have a video of the match. … In the 24th minute and in the 45th minute, monkey chanting can be heard being directed at Hulk," Grigoryants said.
"The monkey chants came from the visitors' section of the ground. The match delegate did not hear them during the game, but only afterward, when he re-watched it."
This is the second major incident concerning racism in the Russian Premier League within seven days.
Last Thursday, the disciplinary committee slapped Torpedo Moscow with sanctions after the club's fans were found guilty of directing monkey chants toward Dynamo Moscow defender Christopher Samba.
A section of the ground containing the most fanatical supporters will be closed for their next home game against Kuban Krasnodar on Oct. 25.
The French-born Congo international also received a two-match ban after making an obscene gesture toward the Torpedo fans following the abuse that happened in last Monday's game.
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