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Russian Football Union Slaps Fine on Torpedo Moscow for Racist Fans

Torpedo will have to play two home games behind closed doors.

Torpedo Moscow have been fined 900,000 rubles ($16,300) by the Russian Football Union for incidents involving their supporters during a Premier League match against Arsenal Tula.

Russian soccer's governing body found the Moscow club's supporters guilty of unveiling Nazi symbols at the game on Sunday and their fans were also involved in running battles with the police and rival supporters.

Torpedo will have to play two home games behind closed doors.

"We made an investigation into the banner, which supporters from Torpedo put up and one of them had a Celtic cross on it, which is a racist symbol and is used by white supremacy groups," the head of the Russian Football Union's Disciplinary Committee Artur Grigoryants told reporters Tuesday.

Torpedo fans have been from attending the team's next three away games after being found guilty of offensive chants and throwing fireworks at Arsenal Tula supporters.

The Moscow club had already been punished three times this season for the racist behavior of their supporters.

The last incident occurred on March 15 when they abused Zenit St. Petersburg's Brazilian forward Hulk.

Torpedo will now play their next four home matches behind closed doors. They lie 12th in the Russian Premier League, with 19 points.

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