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FOOTBALL

Swedish World Cup stars given heroes’ welcome

Götaplatsen in Gothenburg in western Sweden was teeming with exulted football fans on Monday evening, gathered to give the bronze-medal winning women's World Cup team a jubilant welcome back from Germany.

Swedish World Cup stars given heroes' welcome

Over 5,000 people had gathered in the square to welcome the team, who beat France 2-1 on Saturday to claim third place for the second time. Sweden also finished runner up in 2003.

Sweden’s sports minister, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, was on hand to congratulate the players as they arrived in an open-top bus after a tour of central Gothenburg which began at Landvetter Airport.

“Enjoy the fact that you are the best in Europe! This is going to inspire many to start playing football,” she said.

Star striker Lotta Schelin was visibly moved when she was interviewed on stage.

“I have won the Champion’s League with Lyon. But this beats that,” she said.

After the celebrations, with music and a few renditions of the team’s signature dance routine, the players continued their lap of honour to the opening ceremony of the Gothia Cup youth tournament at Ullevi Stadium.

The evening’s festivities ended with a performance in the TV programme “Lotta på Liseberg” filmed at the Liseberg amusement park in the city.

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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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