A Russian footballer has been heavily criticized for hiring a muzzled bear wearing a tie to perform at his two-year-old son's birthday party.

Midfielder Kirill Kombarov, 27, currently plays for FC Torpedo Moscow on loan from Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League.

But he is now the focus of media attention because of photos he posted on the internet of his son's birthday party, which show a live bear performing while wearing a tie and muzzle.

The huge bear was hired from a local circus for Russian footballer Kirill Kombarov's son's birthday (pictured)

Timofei, aged 2, even posed for photos with his mother and father while sitting on it like a horse

The footballer hired the bear from the Stepan Nikulin circus after seeing it perform on television and deciding it would be the perfect way to make it a birthday party to remember for his youngest son.

Kombarov he is the identical twin brother of footballer Dmitri Kombarov, who plays as a left-back for Spartak Moscow.

The bear has already appeared in several films and the circus confirmed it did make it available for private parties.

The pictures show the massive bear fitted with a muzzle and, in one of them, the boy Timofei is seen riding on the back of the gigantic beast. It includes the caption from the footballer himself, saying: 'Happy birthday Timofei.'

But the pictures generated massive criticism for the 27-year-old player, based in the Russian capital Moscow, who has failed to impress so far in the current season, scoring no goals in seven matches, but nevertheless managing to notch up two yellow cards.

One Twitter user Ivan Abdulov posted: 'A great role model for the fairer treatment of animals.'

Another, Isolde Yevdokimova, said: 'Foolish - bears are not house pets.'

Kirill Kombarov (pictured) plays for FC Torpedo Moscow in the Russian Premier League