MOSCOW: Fans who attended the Russian Basketball Superleague final in St Petersburg on Sunday were left shocked by the cheerleaders' pre-match show, Russian media reported.
A group of nine cheerleaders wearing revealing outfits and high heels performed a dance with elements of strip-tease, causing multiple complaints from fans and critical remarks in the local press.
"The match will be remembered not for Samara's victory but mostly for the Spartak cheerleaders' performance," Soviet Sport daily wrote on Monday.
"The organisers should remember that children also come to watch the matches."
Many fans expressed on social media their regrets about taking their children to the final, adding the game should have been rated "18 plus".
"They should have mentioned 18+ age category for this final match," one of the users wrote.
Reports said that Spartak executive director Yury Obvalov refused to identify the cheerleaders' dance as an erotic show, describing it instead as an "elegant, choreographic performance".
However, fans have labelled the performance as "filth", accusing the organisers of going beyond acceptable limits.
"Filth is everywhere! TV, sport, films! How can we bring up a decent generation of kids," one of the fans fumed.
Samara won the match 66-59, recording their second victory in the best-of-three series to claim the national title.