The banner was displayed by Zenit fans during Sunday's Premier League match and read, "Your Yashin snuffed it, and Dynamo will snuff it."
Lev Yashin (1929-1990) is the only goalkeeper ever to have won the European Player of the Year Award. He spent his whole career, from 1949 to 1971, at Dynamo. The keeper, who wore all black when defending his goal, won world fame with his breathtaking performances in the 1966 World Cup in England, as the Soviet Union reached the last four.
He was also voted the best goalkeeper ever by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics. In 1994, FIFA established the Lev Yashin award for the best goalkeeper at the World Cup. Yashin's FIFA testimonial game was held at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow and was attended by 100,000 fans and saw appearances by world stars such as Pele, Eusebio and Franz Beckenbauer. There is also bronze monument to Yashin, or 'The Black Spider', as he was referred to throughout the world, on the territory of Dynamo's home ground.
Confirming that the incident would be investigated by the disciplinary committee of Russian soccer's governing body, top Russian Football Union official Alexei Sorokin said that the banner was "beyond belief."
"From a human perspective the banner in Petersburg is beyond belief. I'm somehow certain however that Zenit's true fans would never do this kind of thing," he told the Sport Den Za Dnem website.
Zenit have already apologized for the banner on their official club website to "all Russian fans, and to everyone who holds our history dear." The club has also promised to hold its own "thorough investigation."
The head of a Zenit fans' group 'Sector 11' told the Sovetski Sport paper that he was sure it wouldn't be difficult to find those responsible for the banner.
"In our sector, the fans were shocked by the banner...It won't be too difficult to find those responsible. They should be banned from buying season tickets for all time. Maybe that will act as a lesson," said Valery Ilyunin.
Later on Tuesday, a statement appeared on a Zenit fans' website saying that those responsible for the banner had been punished in "accordance with supporters' norms."
Russian soccer fans have a long tradition of bringing banners to matches. Before last year's Russia vs England game in Moscow, "the largest banner in the world," depicting a bear, was unfurled before kick-off.
Banners are frequently of a less savory nature however. In 2006, a swastika was displayed by Spartak Moscow fans at an away game in Yaroslavl, 250 kms (155 miles) northeast of Moscow.
