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FOOTBALL

Sepp Blatter charity football tourney still on

Despite a deepening corruption scandal at Fifa, an annual charity event carrying the outgoing president Sepp Blatter's name will go ahead, organizers said on Thursday.

Sepp Blatter charity football tourney still on
Photo: AFP

German great Franz Beckenbauer, who has refused to criticize Blatter and was a Fifa executive between 2007-2011, took part in the last edition.

European football head Michel Platini, now one of Blatter's fiercest critics, has also been a guest at the amateur charity event.

The tournament takes place at Ulrichen, close to where Blatter hails from.

It is due to be held on August 22nd.

Blatter was reelected to the head of Fifa late last month in Zurich for a fifth term as president, only three days after 14 Fifa officials and partners were charged as part of a corruption investigation led by US authorities.

But four days after that Blatter announced his resignation.

According to Swiss media, he has been in a relaxed mood despite the scandal which has engulfed the body he has headed since 1998.

In other developments, Blatter has hired former US federal prosecutor Richard Cullen to represent him as the ongoing corruption investigation engulfs football's governing body.
   
The secretary general of Fifa, Jérôme Valcke, has in turn retained another American lawyer, Barry Berke, a Fifa spokesman told AFP.
   
Cullen, 67, was a federal attorney in Virginia and is currently the head of the high-powered firm of McGuireWoods LLP, which is based in the US state, and has offices in London and Brussels.
   
He is also a close associate of FBI director James Comey and worked for Tiger Woods's ex-wife Elin Nordegren when the golf superstar's marriage was falling apart.
   
New York-based Berke once represented banking giants JP Morgan Chase after the global financial crisis.

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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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