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FOOTBALL

Dutch students raise €3k for Rome fountain

Dutch students on Monday donated €3,200 to restore Rome's Barcaccia Fountain, which was damaged last month by rampaging football fans from the Netherlands.

Dutch students raise €3k for Rome fountain
Damage to the Barcaccia Fountain has been put at €1.2 million. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Students from the Celeanum Gymnasium, in the Dutch city of Zwolle, presented the donation to city hall representatives standing alongside the baroque fountain, which sits next to the Spanish Steps in Rome’s historical centre.

Paolo Masini, councillor for sport, thanked the students for the “great lesson of civility which has come from your classrooms”.

“As we well know, the Dutch love Rome and those hooligans are an absolute minority,” Masini was quoted in Il Messaggero as saying.

An estimated €5 million in damages was caused by Feyenoord fans who tore through the city ahead of their team’s game against Roma last month. Damage to the Barcaccia Fountain, which recently underwent costly renovation, has been put at €1.2 million.

A restoration company from the Netherlands has since offered its services for free to the city, saying it was “shocked by what happened” at the hands of the Dutch fans.

READ MORE: Dutch firm offers to restore Rome after riot

At least four fundraising websites have been set up in the wake of the thuggery, raising around €25,000 for the city.

They include the Scusa Roma (Sorry Rome) crowdfunding page, set up by a Dutch woman living in Italy, which to date has received over €11,000 in donations.

READ MORE: Dutch raise funds to apologize for Rome riot

Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

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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”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

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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