A black and yellow banner belonging to the opposing team was burnt by Zenit fans.
Photo: fc-zenit.ru
The president of Zenit St. Petersburg denied on Thursday that the soccer club's fans burned a German flag at a Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund, saying it was merely a banner belonging to the opposing team.
Pictures surfaced on the Internet of the away team’s fans at Wednesday's game in Dortmund – which Zenit won 2-1 – in which they appeared to be burning the black, red and yellow flag of the host nation.
Other photos show the flag was emblazoned with an insignia, lending credence to Dyukov's claim.
"The information that appeared on burning the German flag – this is not what happened," Dyukov said. "A banner that belongs to Borussia was set alight. It's insulting; it doesn't paint the supporters in a good light," he acknowledged.
"We need time to figure out what happened," he said when asked whether there would be a probe into the incident.
Zenit crashed out of the competition 5-4 on aggregate after losing the first leg of the final-16 round 4-2 earlier this month.
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