Russian premier league football team Spartak Moscow has offered a reward for information that will help to identify the fans who waved a flag depicting a Nazi swastika at its last match against Shinnik Yaroslavl on Wednesday.
The club denounced the "provocateurs" who displayed the Nazi flag in a section occupied by Spartak fans and said it "guaranteed a reward" for any information on the culprits.
"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," the club said Friday on its website.
The match between Spartak and Shinnik was marred by repeated unrest, with 78 arrests made after brawls between rival fans and police.
During the second half of the game, the match was stopped for almost half an hour as police was forced to use a water cannon against fans who ripped up seats and started hurling them at officers.
Wednesday's match saw football fans hurling objects at police, causing the game to be temporarily suspended. ( Dmitry Karmanov / YouTube)
An FA disciplinary meeting is expected Friday.
Under new legislation introduced over the summer designed to limit disturbances at the upcoming Winter Olympics and the World Cup in 2018, Spartak could get a home stadium ban of up to three matches over the unrest.
Even before kick-off, flares and unrest in the Spartak section warned of an eventful match. (EWvgenyi04/ YouTube)
The violent match between the two clubs took place mere hours after UEFA handed CSKA Moscow a partial stadium ban for "racist behavior" at a Champions League game that saw CSKA fans make monkey chants against midfielder Yaya Toure.
