Aragones fined for racist comment

Luis Aragones was tonight fined €3,000 by his employers, the Spanish Football Association, for his racist slur against Thierry Henry.

The punishment of the Spain national coach was the result of a drawn out investigation into Aragones telling Jose Antonio Reyes that he was better than “that black ****” Henry, his Arsenal team-mate.

Aragones made his comments last October, during a Spain training session, with a TV crew capturing the coach’s outburst.

The 66-year-old later dug himself deeper into a hole when attempting to justify his remark, by referring to Reyes as “a gypsy”.

He was called upon in early February to explain his remarks, with the Spanish FA looking to determining whether he had brought the game into disrepute.

Their verdict indicates they have found Aragones in the wrong, but his offence has not been deemed serious enough to warrant a suspension of his duties, or his sacking.

In theory, he could have been suspended for two years, however the Spanish FA have been keen to play down the incident, ever since it was first reported, while players such as Samuel Eto’o, who played under Aragones at Real Mallorca, have been quick to defend him.