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Russian side Zenit St Petersburg made an offer to their fans that many of them could not refuse - a pre-match Covid-19 vaccine before they played against Akhmat Grozny. Which, by the way, the home team won 4-0.

Reigning Russian Premier League champions Zenit have made the Sputnik V vaccine available to all supporters ahead of their today's clash. The vaccine, which has 91 percent effectiveness against the virus, can be accepted by supporters at the Gazprom Arena from now and for the remainder of the season, reports Sportsmail.

A club statement read: 'The Sputnik V vaccine will be available to all visitors to the match aged over 18. 'Please bring your passport and national health card with you and you'll be required to be seen by a medical professional for approval before the vaccination.'

Eligible fans will need to go to the mobile vaccination station which will open on the third floor of Stand C at the stadium. Sergei Semak's side, currently top of the league and two points ahead of nearest challengers CSKA Moscow, boast former Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren and ex-Chelsea winger Yuri Zhirkov, 37, in their ranks.

According to the latest tallies, Russia have had the seventh-most coronavirus deaths in the world and the third-most in Europe, behind the UK and Italy. Many remain distrustful of the Sputnik V vaccine, and it was rolled out before final trial data had been released.

However, since then encouraging results published in The Lancet showed it is around 91 per cent effective, with worldwide demand for it following the report. Despite this, the BBC reported earlier this month that a Levada Centre poll found only 30% of Russians would be willing to receive Sputnik V - down eight per cent since the roll out started.

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Zenit have an average attendance of more than 17,000 this season, and Russia have generally allowed higher crowds to attend football matches than elsewhere in Europe. Sports minister Oleg Matytsin said in October:

'We will do everything possible so that sport is not left without spectators and so that this atmosphere doesn't leave the stadiums and our lives.'