UEFA says it has charged Lokomotiv Moscow and its player Dmitri Tarasov with improper conduct for revealing a picture of Russian president Vladimir Putin on his t-shirt after a politically charged game in Turkey.

UEFA rules prohibit political statements at its matches and the laws of football ban players revealing images and slogans on undergarments.

Tarasov took off his team shirt to reveal the Putin vest after Lokomotiv played Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Tuesday. The Russian side lost 2-0 in the Europa League round of 32, first-leg match.

Beneath the portrait of Putin wearing a Russian navy cap, the vest read in Russian: ''The most polite president.''

Relations between the countries have been tense since November when a Russian warplane was shot down after it violated Turkey's border near Syria.

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