Russian pilots under investigation for drawing penis on flight map

The stunt was a protest against Artem Dzyuba being removed from the Russian national team

Two Russian pilots from Pobeda Airlines are under investigation after appearing to draw a penis on a flight map with some cheeky manoeuvres in the air. The stunt is understood to be a protest against Zenit St Petersburg striker Artem Dzyuba being banished from the Russia squad after a video of the player appearing to masturbate to camera went viral. Russia manager Stanislav Cherchesov has confirmed that his captain will be brought back into to the fold after he was deemed a 'distraction' and missed out on the past week's international break. Cherchesov, 57, said: "We gave him an opportunity to spend time with his family and to recover from the shock. "Our next games will take place in spring. "Time will pass and everyone will calm down, evaluating this situation under a different angle. “Anyway, nobody dismissed him. We gave him an opportunity to calm the situation down." But apparently removing him from the squad to begin with was a step too far for the two aforementioned pilots, who were so incensed by the decision that they took it upon themselves to show solidarity with the player and his NSFW gaffe by drawing a penis in the sky. “This was probably the way in which Pobeda captains expressed their support to Russian team captain Artem Dzyuba and showed their attitude to him being bullied,” said a spokesman for the airline. Russian state broadcaster RT called it a “ballsy flight path” but questioned whether the alleged stunt was a “bit too cocky”. The markings of a penis were recorded in software from the flight over the city of Neftekamsk, as the pilots made some loops during a flight from Moscow to Yekaterinburg on November 11, causing a 20-minute delay. It is not yet clear whether the two pilots received authorisation to carry out the manoeuvre and whether they will face any punishment.