[Novo]

Zenit St. Petersburg have created controversy by announcing that they will no longer grant season tickets to women.

The remarkable development came about after a meeting of the club's fan council, who came to the conclusion that female patrons were distracting their fellow match-goers simply by turning up at the Petrovsky Stadium.

One male supporter was quoted as saying, "I can’t jump around and swear when members of the beautiful sex are next to me."

Zenit have reluctantly confirmed this change in policy, although they seem quite eager to sweep the whole affair under the rug.

"Young women were excluded, but not all of them," spokesperson Ruslan Dryuma said in the Russian newspaper Gorod 812.

"We have made the decision that we are not discussing this subject with the press."

Such an openly sexist stance will severly tarnish the reputation of a club who are, according to their official website, actively attempting to weed out the racism and discrimination that has plagued them for so long.

Mike McGuire, Goal.com