SHARE
COPY LINK

FOOTBALL

Big city clubs clash in championship climax

IFK Gothenburg welcome Stockholm team AIK to Gamla Ullevi stadium on Sunday in a title decider as the Swedish Allsvenskan championship goes down to the wire.

Big city clubs clash in championship climax

The “blue and whites” have, together with the police, had to find an extra 2 million kronor ($286,000) to cope with security at the match which has been classed as a high risk event, especially in view of the high stakes on offer.

Solna-based AIK, who last won the top prize in Swedish football in 1998 under the guidance of British coach Stuart Baxter, hold the upper hand sitting atop the Allsvenskan table with 58 points, one ahead of IFK.

This means that a draw will be sufficient for AIK to claim the “gold” and take home the championship, while IFK will need to take the game to the team with the tightest defence in the league with only 19 goals conceded all season.

IFK are however among the top scorers with only last year’s surprise champions Kalmar scoring more than their 52 goals.

Swedish international and IFK striker Tobias Hysén, the son of former Liverpool back Glenn Hysén, will be hoping to receive the service from his teammates that will enable him to get among the goals.

The game will also feature IFK’s controversial goalkeeper, Kim Christensen. The Dane gained a modicum of notoriety earlier in the season when he admitted to moving the goalposts before a match in order to narrow the goal.

Argentinian Ivan Obolo, hotly tipped to gain a move to one of Europe’s major leagues after Sunday’s decider, has been identified as the main threat faced by the Gothenburg back line.

As a result of the security concerns two sections of the Gamla Ullevi stadium will be left empty thereby reducing the 19,000 capacity to 17,206 – tickets that have long since sold out.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

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”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

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

SHOW COMMENTS