Belgian football champions Club Brugge have vowed to "identify and sanction" a group of its supporters who gave fascist salutes during an anti-racism message on Sunday before their match against Standard Liege.

Dozens of Bruges supporters reacted to the anti-racism appeal by performing the so-called "Kuhnen" three-fingered salute, which is a rallying cry of far-right groups.

"Club Brugge strongly condemns this behaviour," the champions posted in a statement on their website.

The club "will investigate this further, actively support the police in this matter, identify the supporters and subsequently sanction this," it added.

"There is no place for racism within the blue-black family," it said in a reference to the colours of its kit.

This is not the first time that the club's supporters have been guilty of such gestures.

At the end of July, a number of their fans gave Nazi salutes during a Super Cup match against Union Saint-Gilloise.

There was no immediate comment from either the Belgian Football Federation or the league.