Football: Valencia sack coach Gracia

REUTERS: Valencia sacked coach Javi Gracia a day after the team slipped to within six points of the relegation zone in La Liga, the club said in a statement on Monday.

Spaniard Gracia, who took over at the end of last season, was fired following the team's 3-2 home defeat by Barcelona on Sunday, which left them 14th in the standings, six above 18th-placed Huesca with four games left.

Long-serving club employee Voro has been named caretaker coach, the seventh time he has taken charge of the team on an interim basis.