France coach Thierry Henry called the behavior of some of his players unacceptable after their 1-0 Olympic soccer quarter-final victory over Argentina in Bordeaux ended in a brawl and a red card for midfielder Enzo Millot.
Hosts France knocked out Argentina on Friday to avenge the country’s defeat in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in a bitter rivalry recently fueled by a video of Argentine players directing chants labeled as racist at French players.
However, the triumph, courtesy of a fifth-minute goal by Jean-Philippe Mateta, was tarnished moments after the final whistle when French celebrations in front of Argentine players led to a brief brawl in which Millot was shown a red card.
Photo: AFP
“I do not agree with what happened at the end,” Henry told Argentine broadcaster TyC Sports. “One of my players got a red card and I don’t accept that, it shouldn’t happen. I went to shake [Argentine coach Javier] Mascherano’s hand and, when I turned around, it had happened.”
Aside from the trouble, Henry praised his Argentine counterpart Mascherano after a tight match in which the South Americans pushed for an equalizer, but were ultimately held by the French back line.
“We tried to play between the lines but it was very tough,” the former France international said. “Argentina had possession and we played on the counter-attack. The goal came quickly, I don’t want to say that scared us, but we had to wait more. That’s not so easy.”
France are to play against Egypt tomorrow for a place in the final in a bid to win their first Olympic soccer gold medal in 40 years.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS