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FOOTBALL

Stockholm football club coach quits after threats

Michael Borgqvist has resigned his post as head coach of Stockholm football club Hammarby IF after receiving a number of anonymous threats.

Stockholm football club coach quits after threats

“It is completely unacceptable that our employees receive threats in this way and this is the result,” said Hammarby Fotboll AB CEO Åsa Sånemyr in a statement from the club on Monday.

Since being relegated from Sweden’s top flight in 2009, Hammarby, one of four professional clubs in Stockholm, has experienced tough times both on and off the field.

The club is currently languishing in mid-table of Sweden’s second division, a full 14 points off the pace. After a more promising start to the second half of the season the team has begun to drop points with criticism of Borgqvist intensifying as a result, now confirmed to have extended to threats against him.

“It is awful that this is happening,” Sånemyr said.

“It is most regrettable that Micke feels forced to leave his post and it is frustrating that we lack the tools to rid ourselves of this type of incident.”

Sånemyr recognised that Borgqvist and co-trainer, former Manchester United winger Jesper Blomqvist, have had to work with very limited resources as the club has battled to ward off bankruptcy amid serious financial difficulties.

The club announced last week that it had agreed to sell star striker Linus Hallenius to Italian Serie A club Genoa in a move to help bolster finances. The announcement however lead to a boardroom crisis with chairman Henrik Wesslén forced out, and Sånemyr submitting her resignation.

The club have confirmed that Blomqvist will remain in his post until the managerial issue is addressed by the Hammarby Fotboll AB board.

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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”.

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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