Artem Dzyuba, the red-green forward, ripped his jersey during the Lokomotiv Moscow versus Orenburg clash in the eighth round of the Russian Premier League.
Early in the first half, Dzyuba signaled to the referee about a discomfort under his arm, then stepped to the sideline and suddenly tore the shirt open. He quickly swapped to a fresh top and kept playing the game. By then, the clock showed the 52nd minute and the score remained 0-0.
Lokomotiv brought Dzyuba into its squad in February 2023. In May, the club extended his contract through the end of the 2023/24 season with an option to add another year. The 35-year-old striker appeared in six league matches in the new campaign, contributing two goals and two assists.
Following seven rounds in the league, Lokomotiv sat in sixth place with twelve points, while Orenburg occupied the 14th spot with five points.
On August 16, the Russian Football Union’s Control and Disciplinary Committee suspended Dzyuba for two matches and imposed a fine of fifty thousand rubles. The punishment came after he threatened a journalist at the end of a match against Krylya Sovetov Samara in the fourth round of the league. The player had warned a media representative that he would “keep his phone in one place” after the game.
Earlier, Konstantin Genich commented on the incident, describing how Dzyuba had directed insults toward him during that encounter. [citation]