Villas-Boas slams racist abuse aimed at Hulk

A section of the home support directed monkey chants at Hulk during the game at Saturn Stadium, which finished 1-1 after Arnor Smarason equalised the Brazil forward's first-half opener in injury-time.

Hulk took a phlegmatic attitude to the abuse both on and off the pitch, first blowing a kiss in the direction of the perpetrators and then calling on fans to "respect all of the players" in a post-game interview.

"What can you do in those situations than just react with a smile? If I react to the fans with respect, then maybe I'll get the same in return," Hulk said.

Zenit coach Villas-Boas was far more forceful in his post-match press conference, though.

"It's a disgrace to football, it's a disgrace to the public. That's something that shouldn't happen," said the Portuguese.

"Torpedo got an important point, but they should be unsettled about what else happened."