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Basel to face Bayern in Champions League

Champions League surprise team FC Basel have been drawn to face German giants Bayern Munich in the knock-out stages of Europe's premier club competition.

Basel to face Bayern in Champions League
Steffen Grocholl

Bayern Munich, who are hoping to reach the final at their own Allianz Arena, will be on their guard when they meet Manchester United’s conquerors Basel.

England’s two surviving representatives in the Champions League, Chelsea and Arsenal, were handed tough ties against Italian opposition in Friday’s draw, while holders Barcelona will come up against Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen.  

Chelsea will take on Napoli, while Arsenal will meet reigning Serie A champions AC Milan, with both Premier League clubs travelling to Italy first.

Chelsea will know not to take Walter Mazzarri’s side lightly after they qualified for the last 16 at the expense of Manchester City.

For Arsenal, meanwhile, the clash with Milan is a repeat of their meeting at the same stage in 2007-08.

On that occasion the Gunners won 2-0 on aggregate, with Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor scoring late goals in the second-leg at the San Siro after a goalless first-leg.

Barcelona will go to Germany first to face the 2002 runners-up Leverkusen, who qualified from Group E behind Chelsea.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid, who romped through the group stage, winning all six games in Group D, will face CSKA Moscow.

Marseille will take on 2010 winners Inter Milan, Benfica meet Zenit St Petersburg, and Lyon of France will face the tournament outsiders APOEL Nicosia of Cyprus.

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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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