Michel Platini scares off burglar at his French villa
Platini played 72 times for France and won the Ballon d'Or award for the world's top player three years in a row from 1983 to 1985.
He led France to the semi-finals of the 1982 and 1986 World Cup.
He was UEFA president from 2007 to 2016 and later became embroiled in a financial scandal involving then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter, but was acquitted in March this year.
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France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Springboks omit Mapimpi, De Klerk for Wallabies Tests
Salmaan Moerat, who captained the Springboks to victory over Italy this month, is also left out of a 37-man squad consisting of 20 forwards and 17 backs. The two Tests against the Wallabies mark the start of the southern hemisphere title defence by South Africa, which also includes two matches in New Zealand and home and away games against Argentina. "It is always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands (in four build-up matches)," said head coach Rassie Erasmus. "But we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Rugby Championship. "This group includes several experienced players and a few younger guys, who grabbed their chances in the last few Tests, so we are pleased with this squad for the first two matches." Veteran winger Mapimpi loses out only because of fierce competition to fill the number 14 and 11 shirts between Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe. Kolbe and Arendse are the current first choices while Van der Merwe sparkled during July, scoring four tries in successive victories against Italy and Georgia. Canan Moodie, who plays at centre or on the wing, also starred during the four-match build-up for the Rugby Championship and his versatility should make him a strong candidate for at least a place on the bench. Hotly contested De Klerk drops out of the hotly contested scrum-half race with in-form Grant Williams, Cobus Reinach and Morne van den Berg preferred. Head coach Rassie Erasmus has said that 2023 World Cup winner Jaden Hendrikse -- not part of the build-up squad -- could also come into the reckoning later this season. The absence of Moerat leaves Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Ruan Nortje, R.G. Snyman and possibly Cobus Wiese competing for the lock positions. Cobus Wiese has been a second-rower for much of his career, but was deployed as a number 8 against Georgia last weekend in the absence of older brother Jasper, who is serving a four-match ban. Fit-again Jean-Luc du Preez and utility loose forward Kwagga Smith are other options to partner probable flankers Pieter-Steph du Toit and captain Siya Kolisi in the back row. South Africa face Australia at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on August 16 and at Cape Town Stadium seven days later. Squad Forwards: Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jean-Luc du Preez, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi (capt), Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cobus Wiese Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Andre Esterhuizen, Aphelele Fassi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Manie Libbok, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Edwill van der Merwe, Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams, Damian Willemse dl/bsp © 2025 AFP
France 24
17 hours ago
- France 24
Wallabies wing Potter rubbishes 'ridiculous' losing mentality jibe
England's World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward slammed the home side after captain Harry Wilson kicked the ball dead after the hooter to end the first Test in Brisbane, rather than try to score when 27-19 down. "Talk about a losing mentality," said Woodward. "For me, it is the last play of the game so why not have a mentality to try and score as this could be the situation in seven days' time, only closer?" he wrote in a British newspaper column. "Why would any player, especially the captain, want to end the game?" Potter blasted Woodward's claim as unwarranted. "It's pretty ridiculous to suggest that the 23 people who played on the weekend have a mentality of losing," he said at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which will host the second Test on Saturday. "We went out there to win the game, and we didn't win the game. But it was our intention very much and you could tell from every player in the team we wanted to win that game." Potter said coach Joe Schmidt and the side learned plenty of lessons which they will take into Saturday's showdown in front of an expected crowd of 90,000. "It's been tough looking back at that game, certainly learnt a fair bit," he said. "It felt like we didn't put our best foot forward, particularly the first 50-60 minutes. "Lot of lessons to take out of that one. They're an incredibly strong team, but we know that we've just got to come out better and start the game stronger. "And I suppose there were some positive signs towards the end of the game where we felt like if we string enough things together, then we can go a lot better than we did," he added. The Wallabies need to win on Saturday to keep the three-Test series alive and Potter said there was no lack of determination within the squad. "Emotionally it's very simple this week and we all know the task at hand, so I don't think anyone's got any questions about what's at stake," he said. The third and final Test is in Sydney on August 2.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Newcastle cult hero 'Nobby' Solano appointed Pakistan coach
Solano, 50, who also played for Aston Villa and West Ham United in the English Premier League before retiring in 2012, was an assistant coach for his country Peru when they qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. "We have hired the services of Solano with a hope that he will bring more energy and zest to the national players and lift our standings at the international level," the Pakistan Football Federation president, Mohsen Gilani, said in a statement. The cricket-obsessed nation has reached the second round of Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup only once. Pakistan are 201st of 210 teams the in FIFA world men's team rankings, and have sought to improve standards by inducting players of Pakistan heritage based in the UK. Pakistan football has suffered badly from political parties fighting over control of the federation, which receives a large annual grant from world governing body FIFA. The federation was for 10 years run by a FIFA-appointed committee and earlier this year briefly suspended for political interference ahead of elections in May. FIFA in 2021 banned Pakistan from playing international matches for 15 months, also for political interference in the federation. Solano's first task will be with the under-23s men's team, who are due to face Cambodia, Iraq and Oman in September in qualifying for the U23 Asian Cup next year. Solano's first matches in charge of the senior team will be a double-header against Afghanistan in 2027 Asian Cup qualifying in October. Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 away defeat to Syria in March and a 1-0 loss to Myanmar in Yangon last month.
