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Norwegian Deila appointed Celtic coach

Norwegian Ronny Deila has been appointed manager of Scottish champions Celtic on a 12-month rolling contract, the club announced on Friday.

Norwegian Deila appointed Celtic coach
Photo: NTB Scanpix

The 38-year-old former defender takes over from Neil Lennon, who left the Scottish champions two weeks ago after four years in charge.

"I will treasure this opportunity and will give everything I have to achieve success for Celtic and our wonderful fans," said Deila, who guided Strømsgodset to their first title in 43 years last season and won the Norwegian Cup in 2010.

"Celtic is in great shape and the club has enjoyed real success in recent years due to the hard work of Neil and his team.

"I want to carry on this work and continue to bring happy times to Celtic. I can't wait to get started on this journey."

Deila will be presented to the press later on Friday.

Although not the 'big-name' boss many of the Parkhead faithful had been hoping for, Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell was confident Deila would enjoy success with the Glasgow giants.

"Knowing that he was so highly rated across Europe, Ronny was one of the first candidates we considered as manager and having discussed the opportunity with him at length, we are convinced he has the talent and the determination to deliver very positive results for the club and our supporters," Lawwell said.

"Ronny likes to play attacking, winning football, the Celtic way, something I know our supporters will endorse.

"As the new season begins, I am sure our fans will get right behind Ronny and the players once again as we aim to bring success to Celtic and continue to deliver a club they can be proud of."

Deila's appointment came after former Manchester United and Celtic midfielder Roy Keane had reportedly turned down an approach from the Hoops.

The 42-year-old Keane, now the assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland, spent the second half of the 2005/06 season at Celtic after his controversial exit from Old Trafford following a falling-out with United manager Alex Ferguson.

He played only 13 times for the Hoops, but managed to help them win the Scottish title before retiring at the end of the season due to a long-standing hip injury.

Former Sunderland boss Keane has been looking for a managerial role since leaving Ipswich in 2011.

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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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