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FOOTBALL

Coronavirus forces Basel FC to move home Europa League clash

FC Basel will be unable to play the second leg of this month's Europa League last 16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in their home city, the Swiss club announced on Monday, due to coronavirus-related restrictions.

Coronavirus forces Basel FC to move home Europa League clash
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

“The second leg (19th March) of our @EuropaLeague Round of 16 clash with @Eintracht will not take place in Basel due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Switzerland,” Basel said on Twitter.

In a statement, the club added they believed “several hundred visiting supporters would go to Basel and gather outside the stadium during the match”.

The decisions comes after local police decided to bar the match from being played in the city, and the club did not indicate where the match might be held.

Last week the Swiss football league suspended the country's top-flight Super League until March 23 in an effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 3,800 people worldwide.

Contacted by AFP, UEFA said they were “studying all possible scenarios”.

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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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