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FOOTBALL

Madonna causes Bundesliga match cancellation

Friday night's Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Karlsruhe SC has been cancelled because the pitch was damaged during pop star Madonna's concert last week.

Madonna causes Bundesliga match cancellation
Football fans, Madonna hates you. Photo: DPA

The Frankfurt Commerzbank Arena field was destroyed during the concert for Material Girl’s “Sticky and Sweet” tour and it was replaced with new sod shortly thereafter. But on Friday morning referee Thorsten Kinhöfer and officials from the German Football Association (DFL) inspected the virgin field and concluded it was unsafe for players.

“I didn’t realize that a concert could have such an impact,” head of Eintracht Frankfurt, Heribert Bruchhagen said of the cancellation. “We have to respect this, even when we aren’t happy about it. But it’s not easy to let 48,000 fans know that we won’t play,” he said, adding that the team was offering ticket refunds for fans.

A rematch has not yet been scheduled, and Karlsruhe SC trainer Edmund Becker said he was irritated with the decision. “It’s a mess that the match was cancelled on short notice,” Becker said. “There was talk of a cancellation yesterday, but we were assured that we would play no matter what. The way things have gone is incomprehensible for us.”

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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