Fans’ strip show is so costly for Zenit
CELTIC’S Europa League rivals Zenit St Petersburg have been hammered by the Russian FA after fans displayed “intimate parts of their bodies” during a league match.
The punters staged a bizarre naked protest over what they regarded as heavy-handed policing during last month’s game against Spartak Moscow.
Many supporters stripped off entirely during the match and the Russian FA were far from amused.
They have now dished out a £20,000 fine and told the club what the fans did can’t be tolerated.
Russian FA spokesman Arthur Grigoriants said: “Following the match between Spartak and Zenit, we received letters and videos about the behaviour of the Zenit supporters.
“Some of their fans bared their bodies and showed some of their intimate parts.
“It was right next to the family section of the ground and there were children there. That is not acceptable behaviour.”
The Hoops will travel to Russia for the second leg of their Euro tie on February 22 with the first leg taking place in Glasgow a week earlier.
Zenit fans have a fearsome reputation and it’s not the first time they have landed their club in trouble for misbehaviour.
UEFA cracked down on them by ordering the partial closure of one of their stands for the tie against Celtic.
That came after the display of a banner praising former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic during a 2-1 home win over Macedonian side Vardar Skopje. NO matter how the rest of this season pans out, it’s already James Forrest’s best ever having surpassed his record goals tally before we’ve even hit halfway.
Now the Hoops wide man can’t stop aiming for the target, he has Scott Sinclair in his sights as he strives to motor on and take his top scorer’s crown.
Forrest admits his fellow winger has been an inspiration to add more goals to his game.
And when Forrest grabbed the second in Celtic’s 3-1 win over Hamilton on Wednesday to take his tally to 11 for the season, he was thrilled to have already beaten his previous best of nine goals from 2011/12.
Forrest said: “It’s the most I’ve ever scored in a season and I just want to keep going.
“We’re only halfway through and I want to get better.
“When the manager came in 18 months ago he let the forward players have a bit of freedom and he wants everyone to add goals to their game. I’m glad I’ve done that to contribute to the team.
“It’s a team game and for the manager it’s good to get goals from all over the park. Scoring helps my confidence and I just want it to continue.” With Sinclair – who also scored against Hamilton to stretch his haul to 15 goals – on course to at least match his 25-goal tally from last season, the competition at Parkhead for top scorer could be a fascinating sideline to the story of this campaign.
But Forrest insists there is no sense of one-upmanship or a desire to claim the bragging rights among the rest of the squad.
He is just happy to see the boys banging in the goals and reckons talk of Sinclair suffering a mini slump in form for a spell this season has been proved completely wrong.
He said: “It’s not what we think in the changing room. Scotty’s our top scorer and looks sharp.
“He’s ready for every game and he’s a great player to have in the team.
“Scotty’s record last season was tremendous and again this season he’s scoring and is always a threat.
“That’s what I’ve copied but I need to keep adding goals.
“There’s no banter about the amount of goals the boys score, I don’t say anything.
“Whenever they play, they are always a goal threat too.
“Honestly, I’ve not thought about a number to target. This
There’s no banter about the amount we score. I don’t say anything JAMES FORREST