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FOOTBALL

Norway loss puts Euro 2016 place at risk

Norway's chances of competing in the Euro 2016 football championship took a blow on Thursday night after a goalkeeper error allowed Hungary to come away from the first play-off match in Oslo with a 1-0 victory.

Norway loss puts Euro 2016 place at risk
Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland saves a shot from by Akos Elek. Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / NTB scanpix
Twenty six minutes into the game, Hungarian midfielder Laszlo Kleinheisler marked his international debut by shooting past goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland for the only goal of the game. The Hungarians then soaked up constant pressure from the Norwegians to keep their advantage until the end of the match. 
 
“It's a tremendous goalkeeper blunder,” Morten Langli, VG's live commentator said of Nyland's mistake, in which Byland clipped the ball with his hand but failed to stop it going into the net. 
 
“Obviously we are disappointed with the result,” Norwegian coach Per-Mathias Høgmo told TV Norge. “It was a game where, in terms of statistics, we were ahead all the way, and it was really pretty good. We were not effective enough.” 
 
The Hungarian team won despite the death earlier that day of their international goalkeeper Marton Fulop, who lost a battle with cancer at the age of 32. The team wore black armbands in memory of the 24-capped goalkeeper. 
 
“We played with discipline despite being under great pressure,”  said Hungary coach Bernd Storck. “We must not forget that we have a huge 90 minutes still to play on Sunday,”
 
Norway had the better exchanges in the first half and should have been ahead as early as the third minute.
 
Markus Henriksen sped down the left before cutting the ball back to Per Skjelbred who had been left in space inside the penalty area.
 
But his close-range drive was spectacularly parried away one-handed by 39-year-old goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly who was making his 100th international appearance.
 
The second leg of the play-off is in Budapest on Sunday.
 
 

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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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