Former France captain Patrice Evra and four teammates were to attend a disciplinary hearing yesterday for their role in the infamous strike at the World Cup and face sanctions that range from lifetime international bans to a mere reproof.
The French Football Federation has also summoned Nicolas Anelka, Franck Ribery, Eric Abidal and Jeremy Toulalan.
BOYCOTT
All 23 of France’s players boycotted a training session at the tournament in South Africa in June to protest Anelka’s expulsion from the squad after he had insulted then-coach Raymond Domenech during a 2-0 loss to Mexico.
France crashed out in the first round without winning a match and the players’ actions — which included Evra clashing with a fitness trainer and the squad’s sit-in on the team bus being captured live on television — horrified the French public and received condemnation from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other political leaders.
REPERCUSSIONS
The players have already been punished financially, with the federation withholding their World Cup bonuses, but hard-liners like Lilian Thuram, a former international and a member of the federation council, say Evra should never play for France again.
France coach Laurent Blanc wants to move on after having dropped all 23 players for his first match in charge last week — a 2-1 loss to Norway in a friendly.
“I did not become a national coach to punish the France team,” Blanc said. “What I’m interested in is to put together the best team with the best players. To get the best results, I must try to have the best team.”
Blanc hopes to have all players available for 2012 European Championship qualifiers against Belarus and Bosnia next month.
Ribery, who was vice captain at the World Cup, is unlikely to be at the hearing because Bayern Munich is refusing to release him ahead of its opening Bundesliga match on Friday against VfL Wolfsburg.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
RSS