UEFA launches disciplinary proceedings against Russian footballer for Putin shirt incident

Following the final siren in the first leg match of the UEFA Europa League Round of Last 32 between Lokomotiv and Fenerbahce, held at Sukru Saracoglu stadium in Istanbul, Russian club's footballer Dmitry Tarasov took off his team's jersey revealing a tee-shirt with the picture of Putin captioned "The most polite president."
UEFA said in its statement that charges against Lokomotiv were opened for "Improper conduct of Lokomotiv player Dmitry Tarasov after the match."
"Players must not reveal undergarments that show political, religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer logo," the statement said.
"A player/team of a player that reveals an undergarment that shows political, religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer logo will be sanctioned by the competition organizer," UEFA's statement added.

The Russian player told various media after the matches that he did not intend any sort of provocations by exposing his T-shirt with the image of the Russian president.
Earlier in the day Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the incident saying "I would rather not be making any statements about football affairs."
The match ended with the 2-0 Fenerbahce victory over Lokomotiv. Both goals were scored by Fenerbahce's defensive midfielder Souza in the 18th and 72nd minutes of the match.
The second leg encounter of the Round of 32 between Lokomotiv and Fenerbahce had been scheduled for February 25 in Moscow.