The largest fan group of Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg has demanded the club refrain from buying black and gay players.

"We're not racists but we see the absence of black players at Zenit as an important tradition," Zenit fan club Landscrona said in a letter, called the "Selection 12 manifesto", posted on its website on Monday.

"It would allow Zenit to maintain the national identity of the club, which is the symbol of St Petersburg."

Zenit have been the only top club in Russia to have never signed an African player while the northern city of St Petersburg is known to have a strong right-wing nationalist influence.

The fans said they want more home-grown or European players in the team. "We only want players from other brotherly Slav nations, such as Ukraine and Belarus as well as from the Baltic states and Scandinavia. We have the same mentality and historical and cultural background as these nations," the letter said.

They also expressed their opposition to having "sexual minorities" in the team. Several prominent black players have turned down lucrative offers from the wealthy club over the past 12 months after receiving death threats from Zenit fans. A Zenit spokesman said on Monday the club would not comment on the fans' letter.

The former Zenit and Russia striker Alexander Panov said the fans have no right to influence the club's selection policy. "If we don't have enough good players from St Petersburg, then what should the club do?" he said.

"All clubs around the world have black players. If they are absent from Zenit – it's Zenit's problem. I don't think fans should demand the club buy or don't buy certain players. The fans have the right to go to the stadium or stay home."

Zenit have been in turmoil for the past few months with several senior players unhappy after the wealthy club splashed out more than £60m on the Brazil forward Hulk and Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel just before the transfer deadline.

Zenit demoted the Russia captain Igor Denisov to the reserve team in September after he refused to play, issuing an ultimatum to renegotiate his contract in line with what Hulk was making. Denisov was later allowed to rejoin the first team after making an apology.

this is disgusting to hear. how can they say that? football is about respect that includes respecting black, white, asian, hispanic, gay or straight its respecting each other and playing a sport so millions can enjoy it. 

@Footaholic Remember you made a thread about what hypothetical situation would make a fan wanna stop supporting their club? This may make me not support Arsenal if they did something similar.  

@koldi: yea, but let's be sure to point out that this is NOT the club itself but rather their biggest supporter group. I'm quite certain the club don't agree given that they'v just signed Witsel & Hulk last summer.

some people just never change...

I wouldn't say they're disgusting. I'm not trying to be racists, but for them to be long time fans, it's understandable that they want to preserve the Zenit tradition of all-whites, non-gay/black, which has lasted for many decades in the club. Just saying.

In some part of Eastern Europe, they are traditional. I can confirm you because I lived 3 years in Russia. They might have a negative point of view of blacks and gays. You'll see the same stuff in ukraine, serbia etc...

good for them asking the club for playing a homegrown players the only problem is that i they do that i dont think they can compete to anzhi or cska moscow. question who is the gay player in zenit?

Strange.. Why the didnt ask that before signing Hulk?
I hope they dont celebrate his goals!

@donandres unfortunately hulk doesnt score some goals in zenit

This is stupid.

@ Heisinburg - Isn't that how all racism starts? Didn't Europe itself have a "tradition" of all whites and one man did try to preserve that tradition, though it did not end well for him.

@FredTilson: Was that during the Napoleonic regime, or are you talking about Charlemagne?

I don't think it's quite fair to say that 'Europe' as a whole has a tradition of racism. It's more the case that we've had a long tradition of empires which were not queasy about genocide. There are radical right-wing elements everywhere, and they're pretty much always treated for the scum they are by everyone else.

If this is a greater problem in some places than others, then that's not really a fair criticism of all places.

These guys are trash, and I suspect that the more extreme they become, the harsher the backlash when the rest of the city/club see what a detriment they are and (rightfully) turn on them.

I am not sure how you inferred that from what I said. I never claimed that Europe has a tradition of racism, I gave an analogy that a similar argument of "preserving traditions" etc. is what these "radical right-wing" elements as you call them, give to justify their actions. 

Lets be clear here, what they said is very different from saying that we only want our local players to represent our club.

What worries me is that there has been no statement from the club condemning it, do you think if this happened in England/Germany/Italy/France, the same passive approach would be adopted? With Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup, it becomes all the more important.

I agree with you there, re: the club not speaking out, and with regard to the World Cup in Russia. It's just that when you said that Europe has a tradition of 'all whites' (which is, y'know, racism), and that certain dictators rose to power in an attempt to 'preserve' that tradition (it had far more to do with religion, btw), it seemed to me as though you were saying that the traditions of Europe were basically racist in nature.

But yes, the fact that Zenit have not condemned this is pretty shameful.

Like I said, the more radical these views become, the greater the backlash against them when the levee breaks.

I feel for the club slightly because some clubs are quite frightened from their powerful right-wing supporter groups. If they speak out, they take a serious risk of inflating violence and causing schism amongst their ranks. IF they stay silent, they seem implicit in the racism. It's a bit of a conundrum (not saying it's the correct course of action but I'm explaining the background). To be fair, certain clubs in Italy would be just as hesistent to take on their fans.