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FOOTBALL

Ibrahimovic named Italian Player of the Year

Sweden and Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic received the top accolade at the Italian Player of the Year awards on Monday evening.

Ibrahimovic named Italian Player of the Year

The Swede was the star performer as Inter romped to a third consecutive title and as well as picking up the top award at the Italian football Oscars, as they are known, he was also named best foreign player.

Veteran Italy and Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero, who topped the scoring charts last season, picked up the best Italian award while Fiorentina boss Cesare Prandelli was named best coach after steering his side into the Champions League at the expense of AC Milan.

Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus was named best goalkeeper, his team-mate Giorgio Chiellini best defender, Napoli’s Marek Hamsik best young player and Roberto Rosetti best referee.

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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