SOCCER
France captain Hugo Lloris has hinted he will not wear a rainbow-colored armband with a rainbow heart design to campaign against discrimination during World Cup games in Qatar.
France, the defending World Cup champion, was among eight of the 13 European soccer teams going to Qatar who in September joined the “OneLove” campaign, which started in the Netherlands.
FIFA rules prohibit teams from bringing their own armband designs to the World Cup and insist they must use equipment provided by the governing body.
Asked on Monday about the initiative during a news conference at France’s training ground, Lloris was skeptical.
“Before we start anything, we need the agreement of FIFA, the agreement of the (French) federation,” Lloris said. “Of course, I have my personal opinion on the topic. And it’s quite close to the (French federation) president’s.”
French federation president Noel Le Graet previously said he would prefer Lloris did not wear it because he does not want his country to lecture others.
“When we are in France, when we welcome foreigners, we often want them to follow our rules, to respect our culture, and I will do the same when I go to Qatar, quite simply,” Lloris said. “I can agree or disagree with their ideas, but I have to show respect.”
Armbands are the latest battleground for players to push political messages linked to the World Cup hosted in Qatar, where homosexual acts are illegal and the treatment of migrant workers building projects for the tournament has been a decade-long controversy.
• Ghana had to leave its top two goalkeepers out of the World Cup squad after they were injured ahead of the roster announcement.
First-choice goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott broke his finger in the warm-up ahead of a game with his English club side Charlton Athletic this weekend and has now been ruled out of the World Cup, and backup Richard Ofori has a knee injury, according to his South African club Orlando Pirates.
That means Ghana has been forced to dig deep into its reserves for the tournament.
Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who plays his club soccer in Switzerland, is likely to start the World Cup in goal. The other two goalkeepers named in the squad are Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, who has two caps, and 19-year-old Ibrahim Danlad, who is yet to play for Ghana.
• Forward and winger Christian Pulisic will wear No. 10 for the United States at the World Cup and goalkeeper Matt Turner will wear No. 1.
The U.S. team announced jersey numbers a week before the Americans play Wales at Al Rayyan, Qatar, in their first World Cup match since 2014. DeAndre Yedlin, the only holdover from the roster eight years ago, will wear No. 22 instead of No. 2.
RIVER PLATE: Former Argentina defender Martin Demichelis said he will take over from Marcelo Gallardo as coach of River Plate.
The 41-year-old Demichelis was in charge of Bayern Munich reserves.
Gallardo, who won 14 titles including two Copa Libertadores, is stepping down after eight years in charge.
TENNIS
ATP FINALS: Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas for the ninth straight time 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the’ opening match at Turin, Italy.
Djokovic has beaten Tsitsipas in his third straight tournament following wins in Astana, Kazakhstan and at the Paris Masters.
Earlier, Andrey Rublev won a 37-shot rally on his fifth match point to seal a 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev in the other Red Group match.
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