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FOOTBALL

‘Burger battle’ may prove costly for Borås

The burger dispute related to next year’s European under-21 football championships in Sweden may end up putting a dent in Borås’s public finances.

Because of a disagreement between the western Swedish town and the governing body for European football, Eufa, a series of matches originally scheduled in Borås have now been moved to another venue.

The secretary general of the Swedish Football Association, Sune Hellströmer, has written a letter to the municipality’s governing board stating that Borås didn’t fulfill “it’s contractual obligations”.

As a result, the association has the right to request compensation from the city for the additional costs associated with moving the matches to Halmstad, which lies about two hours south.

The dispute stems from demands by Eufa that a franchise of the Swedish fast food chain Max close its doors during next summer’s tournament.

The restaurant, which has a contract with the city of Borås, sits in the arena where the football games were to played.

Uefa wanted the restaurant shuttered because, according to its rules, only official sponsors are allowed to be seen in the arena during tournament play.

McDonald’s, one of Max’s primary competitors in Sweden, is a major Uefa sponsor.

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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