Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in PSG’s 3-1 win over Lorient before he was substituted in the 71st minute. So to pass the time until the final whistle, he decided to take off his boot and carefully place it on the head of PSG assistant coach Zoumana Camara, who didn’t seem to mind. Presumably because he had an idea of who did it.
Category: France
Zlatan streches so hard that he pushes a door open
The one downside to having infinite strength is that you can never truly know the full extent of your power. This is the predicament Zlatan Ibrahimovic finds himself in.
Franck Ribery loses lawsuit against journalist who called him “scum”
No one likes being called names, but most people don’t have the money to invest into suing people who hurt their feelings this way. Franck Ribery, however, does have the money and so he decided to sue French journalist Daniel Riolo for the things written about him in Riolo’s 2013 book Racaille Football Club (Scum Football Club).
PSG threaten legal action over MIA video, claim they’ve won the European Cup
Getting sued by the NFL for giving the finger during the Super Bowl halftime show is enough to make anyone try to be a little more subtle with their subversive acts. But as MIA has found out, subtlety isn’t enough to save you from sports entities’ threats of legal action.
PSG to drop sponsors for “Je Suis Paris” shirt message
For their next two matches, PSG will replace their Fly Emirates shirt sponsorship with the words “Je Suis Paris” in tribute to the victims of the recent Paris attacks. The club previously featured this message in smaller lettering under their crest on both their shirts and anthem jackets for their Lorient last weekend.
Spectators leaving Stade de France sing national anthem after attacks
Dans un tunnel de sortie du Stade de France, sortie dans le calme…. Et la Marseillaise. #fier pic.twitter.com/DeZalRXgmt
— KARL OLIVE (@KARLOLIVE) November 14, 2015
As the devastating attacks on Paris unfolded outside the Stade de France during the France-Germany friendly, the stadium became a place of refuge for those inside. The German team stayed in the stadium for the night after a bomb threat on their hotel was reported earlier in the day and fans stood on the pitch until they were given the all clear to go home.
Zlatan is taking credit for “putting France on the map”
Fresh off winning his 10th Swedish Golden Ball, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is apparently feeling even more enamored with himself than usual. Ahead of Sweden’s Euro 2016 qualification playoff against Denmark, the PSG striker declared that the tournament’s host nation would be nothing without him.
From the BBC:
“I would love to play at the European Championship in France,” said Ibrahimovic.
“I have played there for four years. I have put Sweden on the world map and now I have put France on the world map too.”
Just to be clear, France is a nation that won the World Cup (a trophy Zlatan has never won), won two European Championships (a trophy Zlatan has never won), and a French club won the Champions League (a trophy Zlatan has never won), all before Zlatan arrived in France in 2012.
Granted, Zlatan did bring renewed international interest in French football after Ligue 1 had fallen behind a bit and the French national team became a laughing stock at the 2010 World Cup, but to say he put France on the world map is just, well, about what you would expect from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
It’s only a matter of time before he takes credit for croissants and the works of Marcel Proust.
Djibril Cisse arrested in relation to Mathieu Valbuena sex tape extortion plot
Famous people sometimes get extorted when their private materials fall into the wrong hands, but rarely do those extortion plots involve their former international teammates. That’s what has allegedly happened in France, however, as former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse is one of four people who were arrested in relation to a plot to blackmail Lyon midfielder Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.
French media, including Le Parisien, report that the arrests were made early Tuesday morning and that the alleged plan was to demand that Valbuena pay them or see the video (which has not been confirmed to exist) get released to the public.
From The Local:
According to L’Express news site, Cissé, a former French international striker and household name in the UK after spells with Liverpool, Sunderland and QPR, may soon be released without charge once he is ruled out any wrongdoing.
The other three men were arrested in the Bouches-du-Rhône and Oise départements, and are suspected of masterminding a blackmail plot against Valbuena.
This story will serve as the basis for a film that I really can’t wait to see.
Hatem Ben Arfa uses some kind of magnetic ball trick to beat five defenders and score
Unbelievable goal from @Hatem_Ben_Arfa, as the former @NUFC star beats five men before slotting home for @ogcnice. http://t.co/1S6gOMRZnh
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) September 27, 2015
Hatem Ben Arfa is back in Ligue 1 after washing out at Newcastle and in Nice’s 4-1 win over St. Etienne, he provided a glimpse of why clubs keep giving him more chances. Ben Arfa evaded five defenders in ways that defy scientific explanation on his way to scoring his second goal in a span of six minutes before the end of the first half.
So now we know that this is apparently something that’s possible.
Marseille fans hang effigy of “traitor” Mathieu Valbuena for his return with rivals
An effigy of a Mathieu Valbuena was gruesomely “hanged” in one of the stands tonight… (C+) pic.twitter.com/iDtG0Hkze1
— Get French Football (@GFN_France) September 20, 2015
In 2014, Mathieu Valbuena left Marseille after eight seasons for Dynamo Moscow, a move seen by Marseille supporters as a disappointing and blatant cash grab. Marseille retired Valbuena’s number, though, cementing his place as a highly regarded club legend. Which made it that much more infuriating for Marseille fans when Valbuena joined rival club Lyon after just one season in Russia. Read more