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FOOTBALL

Sion battle to keep Europa League place

Celtic will be forced to wait until September 13th before learning if their reinstatement to the Europa League will stand after Swiss club Sion filed an appeal, it was confirmed Friday.

European football’s governing body UEFA confirmed in a statement Sion’s appeal would be heard next Tuesday — just one day before Celtic are due to travel to Spain for their opener against Atletico Madrid.  

Sion beat Celtic 3-1 in qualifiers but were expelled from the competition after it emerged they had fielded ineligible players.  

The Swiss side are taking their appeal to UEFA’s appeals body after the control and disciplinary body ruled against them last week.  

If their current appeal fails, Sion are able to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.

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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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