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EURO 2016

FOOTBALL

Swiss coach selects France-bound squad

There was no place for experienced defender Philippe Senderos in the 23-man Swiss squad coach Vladimir Petkovic named on Monday for the European championships that begin on June 10th.

Swiss coach selects France-bound squad
Coach Vladimir Petkovic has been the Swiss coach since 2014. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

Senderos, 31, is no longer a shoe-in as a starter for Switzerland, now plying his trade for Grasshopper Zurich after many seasons spent with Arsenal and AC Milan.
   
Along with Senderos, other players to miss out on Petkovic's final cut included Udinese defender Silvan Widmer, Basel midfielder Luca Zuffi and Young Boys goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo.
   
“It was really difficult for me to reduce the list to 23 players,” said Petkovic.
   
“All trained very well in the first week of the training camp in Lugano. It was a difficult decision but that's part of my job.”
   
There was also still no place for former captain Gokhan Inler, who was left out of the provisional 28-man Euro 2016 squad, the latest disappointment for the Leicester City midfielder who saw limited minutes in the club's fairytale run to the English Premier League title.
   
Switzerland get their campaign under way against Albania in Lens on June 11th, before Group A matches against Romania and hosts France.
   
The Swiss team, who went down 2-1 to Belgium on Saturday, play Moldova on Friday before travelling to their base in France for the Euros, in the southern Mediterranean city of Montpellier.

Switzerland squad for Euro 2016:
   
Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Marwin Hitz (Augsburg/GER)
   
Defenders: Johan Djourou (Hamburg/GER), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Michael Lang (Basel), Stephan Lichtsteiner
(Juventus/ITA), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse/FRA), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg/GER), Fabian Schar (Hoffenheim/GER), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys Bern)
   
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Watford/ENG), Blerim Dzemaili (Genoa/ITA), Gelson Fernandes (Rennes/FRA), Fabian Frei (Mainz/GER), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal/ENG), Denis Zakaria (Young Boys Bern)
   
Strikers: Eren Derdiyok (Kasimpasa Istanbul/TUR), Breel Embolo (Basel), Admir Mehmedi (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City/ENG), Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Shani Tarashaj (Everton/ENG)

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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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