Spartak Moscow youth team player Leonid Mironov will not be charged for racially abusing Liverpool teenager Rhian Brewster during a UEFA Youth League game last December, after UEFA found no evidence to confirm the allegation.
Mironov admitted swearing at Brewster, who was the leading scorer in England’s Under-17 World Cup triumph last year, but denied making a racial slur. UEFA yesterday announced that an investigation had not found any evidence of racist abuse, after an inspector took statements from five players from each team and two match officials. European football’s governing body acknowledged that Brewster’s allegation was made in good faith.
Liverpool responded by calling on authorities to do more in tackling discrimination in the game, after Brewster had claimed UEFA “don’t care” about racism in the aftermath of the incident.
Last month the English FA didn’t take any action against Liverpool first-team forward Roberto Firmino after the Brazilian was accused of racially abusing Everton’s Mason Holgate in a similar incident. The 17-year-old Brewster has struggled with knee injuries since the Under-17 World Cup last season, and is yet to make an appearance for the Liverpool senior side.

Balotelli scorns Italy’s first black senator over party’s migrant stance
 Mario Balotelli, Italy’s most famous black footballer, said yesterday a politician who has become the first black person elected to the Senate should be ashamed of himself for representing a fiercely anti-migrant party.
Nigerian-born Toni Iwobi moved to Italy in 1976 and joined the League in 1993, serving as a local councillor. He was elected to the upper house on Sunday to represent the northern city of Bergamo — the League’s heartland. “Perhaps I’m blind or perhaps they haven’t yet told him that he is black. But shame on you!!!” Balotelli wrote on Instagram.
The post showed a photograph of Iwobi with League leader Matteo Salvini, both wearing T-shirts saying: “Stop the Invasion” — a reference to the party’s call for a halt to African migrants who have poured into Italy in recent years.
Balotelli was born in Sicily to Ghanaian immigrants. He has played more than 30 times for the Italian national team and plays club soccer for French side Nice. The League has adopted an uncompromising anti-migrant stance, drawn up with the help of Iwobi, and has called for the deportation of some 600,000 immigrants, many from Africa, who have reached Italy over the past four years. However, the party has said it supports legal migration. Iwobi came to Italy legally on a student visa and subsequently married an Italian. He went on to set up an IT company.

Leicester deny Mahrez has retired after bizarre Facebook post
 Leicester City confirmed yesterday that star forward Riyad Mahrez is not quitting football after a bizarre post appeared on the player’s Facebook page announcing he was retiring. The post said the Algerian was retiring after a medical consultation, prompting an outpouring of disappointment from fans but also claims it was fake.
“After the last consultation with many doctors, I’ve decided to stay away from football,” the Facebook post said. “As my time as a football player comes to an end, I would like to say few words. I want to thank everybody for the kindness and support they have shown me in this incredible city, you will be always in my heart.”
A spokesman for the club said that Mahrez’s account had been hacked. The post has apparently now been deleted. Leicester ran a feature on Mahrez on their website looking at the impact of the player this season, suggesting the Facebook post was a hoax.
Mahrez, 27, scored his first goal at the weekend since a protracted transfer saga over a proposed move to Manchester City, which resulted in a 10-day absence from the club. His stoppage-time free-kick rescued a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.