At least one French footballer gave the lie to the old belief that sport and politics don’t mix, after Jules Koundé encouraged those at home who had not voted in the first round of the snap French general elections to get out and use the ballot paper for the next series of voting.
Koundé's response to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party winning 33 per cent of the vote to head the first round was to use his man-of-the-match interview, after helping France to advance to the quarter-finals at the expense of Belgium, to plead with those yet to vote.
“I was disappointed to see the direction our country is taking, with huge support for a party that is against our values of living together and respect, a party that seek to divide French men and women. But it is not over yet! There is a second round.
“We can try to find those who have not voted and get them to the ballot box to make sure that the extreme right does not get in. They seek to take away our freedom and take away the fact that we live together. And that is my political stance.”
Cristiano Ronaldo finally contemplates retirement before Euro 2028
So, we’re not going to see any Cristiano Ronaldo tears, crocodile or otherwise, when the next Euros roll into town – as in Dublin – in four years time.
CR7 has been known to shed a tear or two in his career, most recently after seeing his penalty saved by Slovakian goalkeeper Jan Oblak in Portugal’s last-16 match only to redeem himself in the subsequent penalty shoot-out where Diogo Costa proved the real hero in saving three spot kicks to advance to a quarter-final with France on Friday.
Ronaldo confirmed to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo that he wouldn’t be playing international football when 2028 comes around, at which stage he’d be 43, when Ireland and the UK share hosting rights.
“It is, without doubt,” said Ronaldo when asked if this was his last Euros. “But I’m not emotional about that. I’m moved by all that football means, by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm for seeing my supporters, my family.”
An old softie, really.
In Words
“I focused on doing what I had to do. I went with my gut feeling. Of course we had analysed the penalty takers but players change and they change how they shoot. I am very happy and very excited to have helped the team” – Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa on his hat-trick of penalty saves against Slovakia.
Cranky De Bruyne doesn’t respond well to question
Bad enough to lose but worse to have salt rubbed into wounds, as Belgian star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne’s reaction to a question after his team’s exit from Euro 2024 showed.
“Is it hard that the Golden Generation didn’t achieve a final?” De Bruyne was asked by a reporter, which seemed innocuous enough.
But the question poked a bear.
“What is the Golden Generation?”
“Yours!”
“Yours?” replied De Bruyne. “And you say that France and England and Spain and Germany is not a Golden Generation? Okay, thank you.”
End of discussion.
Well, not quite.
On his way out, De Bruyne uttered one word. “Stupid.”
In Numbers
€1,293,645 ... and rising!
That’s the amount of fines dished out by Uefa to competing teams at the Euros so far, with departed teams Croatia (€220,875), Albania (€175,375) and Serbia (€166,625) at the top of the table. The majority of fines were for offences of supporters throwing objects on to the pitch and the use of fireworks and flares.
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