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Fifa toughens racism ban for Italy FA president

Fifa on Wednesday toughened a ban imposed by Europe's governing body against Italian Football Federation boss Carlo Tavecchio for comments condemned as racist.

Fifa toughens racism ban for Italy FA president
Carlo Tavecchio's ban started on October 7th. Photo: Emanuele.corr/Wikimedia Commons

Uefa's six month ban from official activity in Europe has been made worldwide by the global governing body.

"Fifa's stance against any form of discrimination is unequivocal," the world body's disciplinary committee said in announcing the extra punishment for the 71-year-old Tavecchio.

Uefa banned Tavecchio on October 7th for comments made earlier this year during his reelection campaign in July.

The veteran Italian powerbroker contrasted the player-recruitment approach of Italian clubs with English teams. "Here we get 'Opti Poba' who previously ate bananas and then suddenly becomes a first-team player at Lazio," he said at the public meeting in July.

The comments appeared to be aimed at France and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, who is black, and sparked a major controversy.

The chairman of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee decided to extend the sanction imposed by Uefa, the world body said in a statement.

"As such, Mr Tavecchio is ineligible for any position as a Fifa official for a period of six months starting from 7th October 2014."

Tavecchio will still be able to attend Fifa's congress at the end of May once the ban has ended. He has apologized for the comments.

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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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