Zenit St. Petersburg forward Hulk has publicly stated that he was racially abused during the side's 2-2 draw with Spartak Moscow on Saturday afternoon.
The 29-year-old Brazilian was pictured blowing kisses to the home supporters - Spartak fans - as he was replaced in the dying embers of stoppage time in the second-half, and after the match was concluded, he spoke to Zenit's official website and explained his peculiar gesture.
Brazilian forward racially abused during away fixture
As quoted by the club's website, he stated: "Unfortunately, the same things are happening - racism in the stands. I won't pay any attention to this, as I have already talked about this."
He continued, saying that he would "continue to blow kisses and answer them with the way I play on the pitch", because the things they are doing "don't even deserve to be discussed."
Not the first incident involving Hulk
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Hulk has been the victim of racial abuse this year either. In March, during their fixture with Torpedo Moscow, he was also racially abused by the home supporters. As a sanction, Moscow were forced to play two matches behind closed doors as a result of their unruly fans.
Emmanuel Frimpong, formerly of Arsenal, was also racially abused a few months back. The Ufa midfielder hit the headlines back in late July, as he was given a two-match ban for his response to monkey chants, having been sent off by the referee having been provoked by the away fans against Spartak.
The former Porto man, who is in his fourth season with Zenit, previously admitted that racist comments are uttered in almost each match in Russia - and he's worried about how racism could affect the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in the capital.
Hulk scored a 27th minute equaliser during their draw with Spartak, his sixth goal of the league campaign, making him the league's leading goalscorer as a result. Zenit are currently in third place, eight points behind leaders CSKA Moscow.