• Anzhi Makhachkala claim banana was thrown at defender
• Lokomotiv Moscow president denies incident happened
Christopher Samba has become the latest victim of racism in Russia after a banana was allegedly thrown at the former Blackburn Rovers defender during his new side Anzhi Makhachkala's match against Lokomotiv Moscow.
The Congolese defender threw the banana back into the stands after the club's 0-1 defeat. Anzhi said they were "deeply disappointed" by the "idiotic" incident.
"We are sure that football authorities, Lokomotiv security, will get to the bottom of the situation and the guilty party will be identified and punished," said the club.
Samba said he had been left "very sad that it happened in front of children sitting in the stand".
"For them it sets an awful example. I try not to dwell on racism," he added. "I just want to believe that the problem doesn't exist on a global scale. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I want to believe that that's the case."
An Anzhi spokesman said: "A banana came down at Samba from the VIP section, as the teams were leaving the field. Who threw it is unknown. Samba picked up the banana and threw it back. In our opinion this was the best and most appropriate response to those responsible."
However the Lokomotiv president, Olga Smorodskaya, denied the incident happened at all.
"This didn't happen and couldn't have happened," she said. "I watched how our fans behaved in the stadium. They have provided exemplary support to the team."
It is the latest ugly episode in Russia, who will host the World Cup in 2018. Last week police refused to punish a fan who threw a banana at Anzhi's Roberto Carlos during a match against Krylya Sovetov in Samara in June. The Brazilian defender was also handed a banana by a fan in St Petersburg earlier this month.