The stadium’s general director, Andrei Fedun, called the incident “hideous” and said he hoped the fan would be deported, Sport-Express cited him as saying.
“As a notice to British [fans]: The meaning of Cherenkov to us is the same as Bobby Charlton to you,” the head of Spartak’s press service, Leonid Trakhtenberg, wrote on Instagram, referring to the renowned Manchester United midfielder.
Meanwhile, State Duma deputy Dmitry Svishev, a member of the committee for sport and tourism, said the fan had “spit in the souls of our fans” before commending other England fans who reportedly attempted to rub the graffiti off the monument.
Another deputy, Igor Lebedev, asked fans to avoid giving too much significance to the incident.
“I don’t think that this was an organized incident with a political undertone,” he told Sport-Express.
“This is just an example of hooliganism, which can happen among the fans of any country,” he added.