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FOOTBALL

Leg injury may keep Zlatan out of Champions League quarter finals

Following an injury to his right leg, Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is unlikely to play during the Champions League quarter-final second leg clash with Arsenal on Tuesday.

The Swede, who scored both goals in the 2-2 draw in the first leg in London last week, pulled up in the pre-match warm-up to Saturday’s 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao which put Barcelona top of La Liga.

Ibrahimovic is also a doubt for Saturday’s ‘El Clasico’ against Real Madrid.

“He is not ruled out of Tuesday’s match by any means, but it will be difficult for him to play,” said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola. “He already had some problems after the first game in London.”

Barcelona are already without Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol through suspension for Tuesday’s clash.

That has already forced Guardiola to reshuffle his back-line and now he needs to change his first-choice striker with Thierry Henry and Bojan Krkic, who scored twice on Saturday, candidates to deputise.

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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

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