France

STOCKHOLM/PARIS — Allegations of rape against French footballer Kylian Mbappé are "totally false" and "a slanderous rumour", his representatives said, and his lawyer said he was beyond reproach, following media reports that Mbappé was the subject of an investigation over an incident in a Stockholm hotel on Oct. 10.

Mbappé rape rumors

Swedish prosecutors confirmed in a statement in response to the media coverage that a probe into an alleged rape at a hotel in central Stockholm had been opened, but they did not identify a suspect.

PARIS — French soccer player Paul Pogba’s doping suspension has been cut to 18 months from an initial four years, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Friday.

"The suspension is now 18 months, starting Sept. 11, 2023," CAS director general Matthieu Reeb told Reuters.

Paul Pogba ban reduced

Paul Pogba: “Finally, the nightmare is over”.

“I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again”.

PARIS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - France midfielder Antoine Griezmann announced the end of his international career on Monday after being coach Didier Deschamps's most important player for a decade, during which he won a World Cup title.

The 33-year-old, who struggled at this year's Euros, was one of the key elements in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup campaigns as Les Bleus took the title in Russia and finished runners-up in Qatar.

France's World Cup-winning defender Raphaël Varane announced his retirement from football at the age of 31 on Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on his successful career after suffering a serious knee injury.

Varane made 93 appearances for France from 2013-22, playing a key role in their victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as well as their runners-up finish four years later in Qatar. He retired from international football in 2023.

Varane retires

PARIS — Spain secured the gold medal in the Olympic men's soccer tournament after Sergio Camello scored twice in extra time to earn a dramatic 5-3 win over hosts France in a nail-biting final at Parc des Princes on Friday.

The teams were locked at 3-3 at the end of normal time but Camello scored 10 minutes into the extra period and scored another at the end to earn Spain their first Olympic title since 1992.

PARIS — France coach Thierry Henry called the behavior of some of his players unacceptable after their 1-0 Olympic 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 last World Cup final in a bitter rivalry recently fuelled by a video of Argentine players directing chants labelled as racist at French players.

PARIS — Hosts France reached the Olympic men's football semi-finals for the first time in 40 years with a 1-0 win over Argentina thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta's first-half goal in a grudge match in Bordeaux on Friday.

France will face Egypt for a place in the final and Morocco meet Spain in the other semi.

France vs Argentina fight after the game

¡EL PARTIDO ACABÓ EN EMPUJONES!

The United States men’s national struck France’s goalframe twice but ultimately fell short against the hosts with a 3-0 defeat in their group stage opener of the 2024 Olympics on Wednesday.

USA vs France highlights Olympics

In the first half the USMNT went toe-to-toe with a heavily favored France side led by the legendary Thierry Henry. While France had more possession, the USA’s defense held firm with overage center backs Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson frustrating the French attack.

The race for the upcoming Ballon d’Or is going to be close.

As anticipation builds for the 2024 Ballon d'Or, the battle for soccer’s most coveted individual award is shaping up to be thrilling. 

After a long 2023-24 campaign, paired with a summer full of international play with the Euros and Copa América, the number of contenders for the award has only increased.

FIFA is investigating a video circulating on social media that showed some members of the Argentina national team singing about France's players that the French Football Federation decried as "racist and discriminatory".

The FFF said on Monday that it would file a complaint to the global soccer governing body over the video, in which Argentina players were celebrating winning the Copa America.

FIFA investigating Argentina bus video