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ZURICH: FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that two incidents of alleged racist abuse which marred German Cup games are “unacceptable” as German police investigate.
Infantino’s comments came a day after Schalke’s Christopher Antwi-Adjei said he was subjected to racist abuse in a cup game at Lokomotive Leipzig. He was whistled by fans throughout the match after reporting the incident to officials.
In another incident, a Kaiserslautern substitute was racially abused while warming up in a game at RSV Eintracht, the team’s coach said. He didn’t name the player affected. Both incidents occurred as lower-league clubs from the former East Germany hosted larger teams in first-round games.
“It is unacceptable that incidents have occurred at two DFB-Pokal matches in Germany,” Infantino wrote on social media, using the German name for the competition. “Football has no place for racism or any form of discrimination.”
Infantino said FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel would be “in touch” with the German football federation.
“Everyone at FIFA, The Players’ Voice Panel and the whole football community stands firmly with all those impacted by these events – we are committed to ensuring that players are respected and protected, and that competition organizers and law enforcement authorities take appropriate action,” Infantino added.
Antwi-Adjei filed a complaint about the incident at Lokomotive Leipzig and police were investigating, Schalke said late Sunday. At RSV Eintracht, fans and security quickly identified the alleged perpetrator and fans of both teams chanted “Nazis out,” German agency dpa reported.
The incidents in Germany came two days after Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo reported that he was racially abused by a spectator while playing at Liverpool. The game was briefly paused as the referee spoke to the coaches and captains of both teams.
Police said Saturday that a 47-year-old man from Liverpool was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense. He was taken into custody to be interviewed. Infantino has said FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel would contact Semenyo.

JEDDAH: Australia took the FIBA Asia Cup for the third time in a row with a dramatic 90-89 victory over China at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on Sunday.

The Boomers trailed for most of the game, with China leading by 15 points early in the game.

Xavier Cooks pumped in 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Jaylin Galloway contributed 23 points and five rebounds, and William Hickey added 15 points as the Boomers steadily narrowed China’s lead.

With just 1 minute, 9 seconds remaining in the last quarter, Hickey scored the basket that turned the tide. China had a chance to win but Hu Mingxuan’s buzzer-beater attempt bounced off the rim. Hu led his team with 26 points.

With the victory, Australia became the second team in Asia Cup history to achieve a three-peat. The Boomers also extended their unbeaten run to 18 games since they joined the tournament in 2017.

China won the title three times in a row in 2003 when it captured its 13th tournament title. China has won 16 Asia Cup championships.

Aside from Hu, three of China’s players scored double figures, with Hu Jinqiu pouring in 20 points and 10 grabbing rebounds, Cheng Shuaipeng making 12 and Zhao Rui adding 10 points.

China’s second-place performance was, nonetheless, a remarkable comeback after a decade without a medal since it last won the Asia Cup title in 2015.

Speaking to the press after the game, Australia head coach Adam Caporn said: “The main thing is I am so proud of the character of our guys. We were down by 15, but we saw our players’ toughness, their problem-solving attitude,”

“We have great people in the program, and in my opinion that’s why we won,” he added

In the battle for third place, Iran defeated New Zealand 79-73.

Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, vice president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, crowned Australia with the title of the tournament’s 31st edition.

Among the officials present were Sheikh Saud Al-Thani, president of the International Basketball Federation; K Govindaraj, FIBA Asia president; and Ghassan Tashkand, president of the Saudi Basketball Federation.