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FOOTBALL

Spain’s La Liga draw postponed after fraud arrests

The Spanish football federation has pushed back a draw for the upcoming football league calendar until Friday following the arrest of its president.

Published: 19 July 2017 16:53 CEST
Spain's La Liga draw postponed after fraud arrests
Photo: AFP

The draw to decide fixture for the first and second divisions, originally scheduled for Thursday, will now take place Friday at 12:30pm (10:30 GMT) at the federation's headquarters, it said in a Twitter message.

The federation postponed the scheduled meeting from Thursday to Friday in the wake of the arrest of Angel Maria Villar in a major anti-corruption probe.   

His son Gorka along with federation vice-president and financial chief Juan Padron were also held in connection with the probe, which notably focuses on allegations of skimming profits from international matches.   

READ MORE: Spanish football federation chief held in probe fraud

Villar pictured in July 2016. Photo: AFP

Earlier on Wednesday, the head of Spain's government sports council, Jose Ramon Lete, had said the draw would go ahead despite the arrests and cancelled meetings.

“The draw, which is a purely administrative act, will take place,” he told news radio Cadena Ser.

The 2017/18 first division season will begin the weekend of August 19-20th and end on May 20th, 2018.

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.

Published: 4 March 2024 13:41 CET
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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