LONDON - FIFA Vice-President Jeffrey Webb condemned "deep rooted racism" in Italy on Wednesday after Mario Balotelli was racially abused while training with the national team. A year after spearheading the strengthening of FIFAs discrimination sanctions, Webb is frustrated that some countries including Italy and Spain are not showing the commitment required to the fight against racism. "National associations obviously really have to not just talk about zero tolerance — they have to put action behind it," Webb told The Associated Press in an interview in London. "If you look at some of the decisions that have been taken in Spain and Italy definitely thats cause for concern." Balotelli, who is black, faced racist chants again on Wednesday morning in Italy — this time at the national teams World Cup training base in Florence. "Unfortunately, it just shows the deep rooted racism and prejudice that exists obviously in the Italian community and society at large," said Webb, who heads FIFAs task force against discrimination. "It is a fight, it is a challenge." And a challenge to ensure every country adopts the penalties adopted by FIFA last May, including minimum five-game bans for racist abuse by players, and point deductions or relegation for serious incidents in the stands. In Spain, Villarreals only sanction last month was a 12,000 euro ($16,000) fine from the league after a fan threw a banana at Barcelona defender Dani Alves, rather than any partial stadium closure for the next game. "We have seen national associations taking decisions and they have not implemented what FIFA has adopted or what UEFA has adopted (including a minimum 10-game ban for racism)," said Webb, who is also CONCACAF president. "In those cases now we have got to make sure that those regulations go down to the national associations — and the national associations hold the clubs accountable." To Webb, Spanish football remains in a state of denial about the extent of racism and the need to show a commitment to eradicating the scourge on the game in the home of the world and European champions. "Its obviously very much deep-rooted," he said of the situation in Spain, adding later: "In many countries its not high on the agenda." ___ Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris Stitched Tigers Jerseys .5 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, a deal that covers his final two arbitration seasons. Tigers Jerseys 2019 . LOUIS -- David Ross never expected to be on a World Series podium. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . Alfredo Simon lowered his ERA to 0.86, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday for their 16th win in their last 17 games at the Friendly Confines. Custom Detroit Tigers Jerseys . -- Andrew Wiggins is from Canada, Wayne Selden from Massachusetts and Joel Embiid from the African nation of Cameroon. Detroit Tigers Gear . The Brad Jacobs team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., advanced to Fridays championship game with a 10-6 win over Chinas Rui Liu in the semifinal.Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Cameron Ridley scored 19 points to power 20th-ranked Texas to a 77-50 rout of No. 16 West Virginia on Saturday at the Erwin Center. Myles Turner added 16 points off the bench and Jonathan Holmes contributed 16 with 11 rebounds for the Longhorns (13-4, 2-2 Big 12), who had lost two straight. Texas had a week off since last Saturdays 11-point setback at Oklahoma State and played swarming defense, limiting West Virginia to just 24.1 percent shooting. Gary Browne was the lone West Virginia player in double figures with 14 points. The Mountaineers (15-3, 3-2 Big 12) entered the contest with the most road and neutral-site wins in the country at nine. Juwan Staten, West Virginias leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, made just 1-of-7 from the field and finished with three points. Jonathan Holton scored the first five points of the game for West Virginia, but the Mountaineers went cold from there and the Longhorns heated up with an 18-2 run. Ridley scored eight during the burst for Texas, capping it with a short jumper for an 188-7 lead.dddddddddddd Tarik Phillip hit a pair of free throws for West Virginias lone points during the span before Browne hit a 3-pointer to end the Mountaineers nearly nine-minute field goal drought. West Virginia got as close as seven and trailed by nine with 3 1/2 minutes left in the half, but Texas closed with a 7-2 run to take a 37-23 advantage to the intermission. The Mountaineers got only as close as 10 in the second half, as a free throw by Elijah Macon made it 54-44. Texas followed with an 18-3 run to put it away. Game Notes West Virginia hadnt scored fewer than 64 points all season ... The Longhorns held a 44-32 rebounding advantage ... Texas scored 21 points off 17 West Virginia turnovers ... The Longhorns committed 19 turnovers, leading to just eight West Virginia points ... Texas, which won three games against West Virginia last season, improved to 6-3 all-time against the Mountaineers ... The Longhorns will visit TCU on Monday, while West Virginia has a week off until hosting TCU next Saturday. ' ' '