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RACE

Woman didn’t want help from ‘dark-skinned’ clerk

A woman's refusal to be served by a "dark-skinnned" clerk at the local office of a public agency is not a crime, a Swedish court has ruled.

Woman didn't want help from 'dark-skinned' clerk

On two occasions within the span of a few days, the woman simply refused to go up to the desk at which the clerk in question sat, the local Nerikes Allehanda (NA) newspaper reported.

In explaining her decision, the woman explained to other clerks as well as a manager at the office that she didn’t want to be served by a black person.

The incident resulted in the woman being charged with harassment, with an alternative charge of insulting behaviour.

In an initial review of the case, the Örebro District Court acquitted the woman, noting that she had never directly confronted the clerk in question about her reasons for not wanting to be served.

As the derogatory remarks were only mentioned to the clerk’s colleagues, the court ruled that the woman had no intention of insulting the clerk.

The case was nevertheless appealed to the Göta Court of Appeal, which on Tuesday ruled as well that the woman wasn’t guilty of committing any crime, even if he behaviour could be viewed as insulting by the clerk.

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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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