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FOOTBALL

Eriksson arrives in Mexico

Swedish coach Sven Göran Eriksson, whose year-long reign as Manchester City manager ended on Monday, has arrived in Mexico to tie up a deal to coach the national side, local media have reported.

Eriksson arrives in Mexico

“Sven arrives in Mexico,” the sports daily Record headlined Monday.

The newspaper added that that according to national committee member Jorge Vergara, the 60-year-old former England boss has already been hired to lead the national side.

Eriksson, who was filmed shortly after his arrival on Sunday night in a hotel in an exclusive area of Mexico City, is expected to be officially unveiled on Tuesday after meeting with officials, reports added.

Eriksson’s year in charge of Man City saw a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of a club that had spent the previous campaign on the edge of the relegation battle.

City finally finished the season in ninth place, but despite the bonus of a place in next season’s UEFA Cup via the Fair Play league, the club’s owner Thai tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra was not satisfied.

Eriksson would replace former Mexican football star Hugo Sanchez, who lost his job in March after Mexico failed to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Mexican Jesus Ramirez has been in charge since and is expected to lead the side for the last time in a friendly against Argentina Wednesday in San Diego.

Mexico will then play a friendly in Chicago on June 8th against Peru before beginning qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup against Belize in June.

Eriksson coached England from 2001 to 2006. He also coached Italian sides AS Roma, Sampdoria, Florentina and Lazio and Portuguese giants Benfica.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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