Big names, big calves and ‘Les eléphants' — France's end-of-term bunfight
Fans of promotion and relegation are in for a treat over the next month. France has commenced its end-of-season fête of play-offs: weekend after weekend of quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals and matchs d'accession. The fluidity has begun.
Let us start where amateur meets professional. On Sunday, Niort triumphed over Langon to secure their place in Nationale, the third tier of French rugby. The Niortais are towards the west, just under an hour's drive from La Rochelle, and they will rise up a level with Rennes Étudiants Club (REC), who beat them in the Nationale 2 final.
The restoration of REC to the third tier — they have a five-year plan to reach Pro D2 — adds a Breton accoutrement to the sport's upper echelons, following
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Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Spain vs France predictions: Nations League semi-final tips and odds
Our expert has three tips for Thursday's Nations League semi-final between Spain and France at the Stuttgart Arena, Germany (kick-off, 8pm BST). We think Spain can capitalise on France's defensive absentees. Spain vs France tips Spain to win @ 13/10 with Midnite Over 9.5 corners @ 10/11 with Midnite Nico Williams to have 1+ shot on target @ 3/4 with Midnite Odds courtesy of Midnite. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change. Already a Midnite member? Check out more free bets from the best betting sites, reviewed by our experts. Spain can expose weakened rivals Both Spain and France required penalties to progress to the Nations League semi-finals but La Roja look better equipped to win when the sides square up in Stuttgart. Spain are unbeaten in their last 18 matches and have not lost in the Nations League since September 2022, having won the most recent edition of the tournament. France won the Nations League in 2020-21 but they are not at full strength going into this semi-final with seven players having featured in the Champions League final and starting defenders Jules Kounde, William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano all out. Les Bleus have already lost to Croatia and Italy in this tournament and a fresher Spain are a worthwhile bet to win at 13/10. Expect a high corner count It was a case of possession with purpose for Spain when they won Euro 2024 and their more direct approach under Luis de la Fuente could contribute to a high corner count against France. Getting the ball to Barcelona star Lamine Yamal and Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams down the flanks is key to Spain's approach and they have averaged 5.6 corners per game in their last five matches. Having included the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola in their latest squad, France also like to play with width and only Portugal (57) have taken more corners in this competition than Les Bleus (56), so over 9.5 total corners looks a good pick. Williams can excel on left flank Yamal is obviously the star of the show for Spain but his team-mate Williams should not be underestimated. Williams leads the way for both shots (19) and shots on target (nine) for Spain in this season's Nations League, while he averaged 1.9 shots per game for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga this term. In the two-legged quarter-final with the Netherlands, Spain directed 43 per cent of their attacks down the left, so Williams should get plenty of the ball and is worth backing to have a shot on target. Spain vs France odds All odds courtesy of Midnite. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change. If you'd like to find more odds and offers, take a look at our list of the best betting sites and latest free bets
BBC News
40 minutes ago
- BBC News
Battle of Ballon d'Or favourites - Yamal v Dembele in Nations League
Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal, the two favourites for the Ballon d'Or, go head to head in Thursday's Nations League France and Yamal's Spain meet in Stuttgart (20:00 BST) for a place in Sunday's final against Portugal - after the conclusion of remarkable domestic seasons for well as impressing for their clubs, both netted in their country's respective Nations League quarter-final played down any suggestion this match would have an impact in the Ballon d'Or decision - with the winner announced on 22 September in Paris."If you were voting for the Ballon d'Or, would you choose the best player of the year, or the one who wins the match on Thursday?" the 17-year-old told El Partidazo de COPE."Whether we win or not, I would vote for the best player of the year. "I'm not thinking about the trophy or whether I'm going to win. You'll do badly if you think you have to win it. What I do is play and try to win."BBC Sport compares their stats and looks at the seasons that two of the most exciting forwards in world football have just completed. How the stats compare for 2024-25 Paris St-Germain forward Dembele is well clear of Barcelona winger Yamal for goals (33 v 18) but the Spaniard beats his French rival for assists (21 v 13).Across all competitions, Yamal, despite being 11 years younger, played significantly more than Dembele this season - 4,548 to 3,286 minutes - and in a tougher league in terms of the general level of has taken more shots overall (but fewer per 90 minutes) while Dembele's conversion rate is much Yamal ranks much higher for dribbles than Dembele, with a higher success rate on them Spaniard has won possession more times, tackled more and won more duels than the terms of trophies, both won their domestic double, plus their Community Shield equivalents - and Dembele lifted the Champions League. Dembele's career revival Dembele delivering the season he has had would have been unthinkable even seven months ago, and winning the Ballon d'Or would complete one of football's greatest season has already resulted in the 28-year-old being named the Champions League's player of the season and the Ligue 1 Golden Boot career looked destined to be one of of unfulfilled potential, and he has admitted himself for years he lacked professionalism. He once cost Barcelona a fee of £96.8m, potentially rising to £ before this season he had only managed double figures for goals in a league campaign once, his first in senior football for Rennes (12 goals in 2015-16).Maybe he was best known in England for missing the chance to put Barca 4-0 up in their 2019 Champions League semi-final, with the Reds going on to win 4-3 on approaching the halfway point of the season, he was only having a fairly average one by his standards - with five goals before playing Lyon on 15 everything changed that day as Luis Enrique moved him from his more accustomed right-wing berth to play him at centre forward - and he netted in a 3-1 was part of a run of 18 goals in 10 games. After that he chipped in goals at a regular with a return of one goal in his final 10 games of the season, he ended on 33 - with 21 in the league making him Ligue 1's top has also performed for his country, netting in Nations League wins over Belgium and Croatia - doubling his tally of competitive goals in a France also managed 13 assists for PSG, including two in the record-breaking 5-0 Champions League final win over Inter Milan."I would give the Ballon d'Or to Mr Ousmane Dembele," PSG boss Luis Enrique said in Munich."The way he defended, just that alone could be worth the Ballon d'Or. That's how you lead a team: goals, trophies, leadership, defence, his pressing."Unlike Yamal, Dembele still has the Fifa Club World Cup to play in this summer to cement his claims. Yamal's unprecedented campaign Yamal is achieving things few 17-year-olds have ever done his 18th birthday - which he will celebrate on 13 July - he has already won the European Championship with Spain, La Liga, the Copa del Rey, plus a Spanish Super Cup while in the colours of has actually won two La Liga titles, as he played once as a 15-year-old in in the space of two years his influence has grown significantly as Yamal, who has already passed 100 appearances for Barcelona, scored 18 goals and made 25 assists in 55 games this was named in the Champions League team of the year after some remarkable displays - including in the thrilling semi-final defeat by Inter Milan."Lamine is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years, and to see him up close really impressed me," said opposition manager Simone Inzaghi."He caused us huge problems because we were supposed to double up on him and it wasn't enough."It is not just the quantity of Yamal's goals but the quality and big-game nature of netted three goals in four Clasicos against Real Madrid this season, plus a fantastic strike in that epic tie against he struck in the Nations League quarter-final against the CIES Football Observatory recently valued him at 400m euros (£340m).Yamal recently signed a new six-year deal with Barca, and BBC pundit Stephen Warnock called him "a future Ballon d'Or winner".Brazil legend Ronaldo is the youngest winner of the award at the age of 21 - so Yamal has three attempts to break that record.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Why Imane Khelif is set to KEEP Olympic boxing gold medal, despite calls for title to be stripped after 'leaked medical report proving champion is a biological male'
A legal expert has revealed why Imane Khelif is unlikely to be stripped of her Olympic gold medal despite the emergence of a 'leaked' medical report. The alleged medical test on Khelif at the 2023 World Championships claimed that the boxer was in fact 'biologically male' and comes less than two days after World Boxing ruled Khelif would need to undergo sex screening to be eligible for any future appearances in female events. Last summer, Khelif was deemed eligible to compete in France despite World Boxing having known about the test, with IOC president Thomas Bach previously questioning the test's legitimacy. Despite the controversy surrounding Khelif, the 26-year-old went on to win a women's boxing gold medal representing Algeria boxing at the Paris Games. However, since the emergence of the reports about the 'leaked' medical report, critics have stepped forward and called for Khelif to be stripped of the medal. Now, a legal expert has revealed why that will not be the outcome and why Khelif will, instead, be allowed to keep the medal from Paris. Speaking to Newsweek, Doraine Lambelet Coleman, a Thomas L. Perkins Distinguished Professor of Laws at Duke Law School, explained: 'The IOC would not revoke medals won by athletes who were eligible according to the rules it set for the boxing competition in Paris. 'Unlike the eligibility rules set by the IBA and now WB, those rules did not require competitors to be biologically female.' One of those who called for Khelif to have the medal taken away was former Team GB star Sharron Davies who, during an interview with GB News, claimed: 'The truth was always there'. She explained: 'We all knew that this person had two positive sex screening tests. And the people that are to blame for all of this are the IOC. 'If you look back to those press conferences during the Olympic Games last summer, the things that Thomas Bach was saying are never excusable. They allowed male on female violence for the whole world to watch. 'The fact that they turned around and said that those tests that they had been informed about, a year prior, were not legitimate - when they were performed and accredited by the US College of Pathology. 'When people ask, do I have sympathy? No I don't because Khelif knew that they were biologically male. They knew they were cheating. 'They knew they had an unfair advantage and nobody cared. They didn't care what damage they might have inflicted on a female'. Davies also highlighted the moment which she believes proved that Khelif and her team 'knew' she was biologically male. During the interview, she said: 'All of that which you saw at the Olympic Games in Paris last year was an utter lie. 'You only had to see the pictures of Khelif up on the shoulders of their coaches afterwards to know this is not somebody they are treating as a female because they wouldn't have done that. 'Everyone knew and yet we were being lambasted. The people that were saying 'This is not fair and most importantly it's incredibly dangerous'. That's what - above and beyond everything - was criminal negligence, I think'. Khelif grew up in the northwestern rural town of Biban Mesbah in the Tiaret province of Algeria and was raised as a devout Muslim. In Islam it is forbidden for a believer to touch a member of the opposite sex that they are not related to. In a similar instance on Saturday night, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov - who is also a devout Muslim - refused to shake the hand of female TV presenter Kate Scott at the UEFA Champions League. In a similar response to the news, JK Rowling branded the news 'a win for women'. The document seen by 3 Wire Sports via Telegraph Sport, states: 'Chromosome analysis reveals male karyotype.' Rowling, who has weighed in heavy on the debate in the past, has taken to social media to give her view on the news. 'It's a win for women because they won't be battered to death in the ring by men,' wrote the Harry Potter series author. 'If you had any idea what physical tests women go through routinely in their lives you'd know a cheek swab is no bigger deal than flossing your teeth. Any more moronic questions, wing them over.' Broadcaster Piers Morgan was among the first to respond to reports of the test, writing on social media site X: 'The biology-denying woke brigade abused and shamed me for saying it was outrageous and dangerous for Khelif to be beating up women at the Olympics. 'I'm ready for their apology, but won't hold my breath.' Former Olympian Sharron Davies was similarly convinced by the report, writing: 'When did we stop believing in our eyes & gut! Oh yeah when we decided women's sport didn't matter…' Conservative activist Riley Gaines also weighed in, referring to Khelif with male pronouns and saying: 'To all the people that insisted Imane Khelif was a woman because his passport said so, 'You were wrong. We were right. Sincerely, People with functioning eyes and a shred of honesty.' The results reportedly have a date of being collected of March 17, 2023 - the same year that Khelif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the former governing body for the sport for 'failing gender eligibility tests'. It's a win for women because they won't be battered to death in the ring by men. If you had any idea what physical tests women go through routinely in their lives you'd know a cheek swab is no bigger deal than flossing your teeth. Any more moronic questions, wing them over. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 2, 2025 The document claims to have come from Dr Lal PathLabs in New Delhi, a laboratory which is accredited by the American College of Pathologists and certified by the International Organisation for Standardisation. The report was initially published by the journalist Alan Abrahamson, who first brought reports of Khelif's alleged failed gender eligibility test to public attention at the Paris Games. Mail Sport has contacted Khelif's representatives for comment. Khelief has previously stated that she planned to defend her gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in three years time. World Boxing does have some Olympic authority, as they have been announced to provisionally run testing for the Los Angeles games, with any person over 18 required to undergo PCR testing to determine their sex. The governing body said the PCR test is a laboratory technique used to detect specific genetic material, with the SRY gene revealing the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test can be conducted by nasal/mouth swab, saliva or blood. The governing body said the testing will be part of a new policy on 'Sex, Age and Weight', which it claims will ensure a safe and competitive playing field. World Boxing revealed the contents of a letter sent to the Algerian Boxing Federation, confirming Khelif is unable to compete in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup or any World Boxing event until she undergoes sex testing. 'Imane Khelif may not participate in the female category at the Eindhoven Box Cup, 5-10 June 2025 and any World Boxing event until Imane Khelif undergoes genetic sex screening in accordance with World Boxing's rules and testing procedures,' the letter read. 'In accordance with the World Boxing Statutes, amendments to the Competition Rules are typically made by Congress. However, under special or emergency circumstances, the World Boxing Executive Board holds the authority to make immediate amendments when a rule is deemed no longer functional or when evolving conditions necessitate a change. 'In May 2025, the Executive Board exercised this authority and adopted new eligibility criteria for participation in sex-specific boxing categories. These new eligibility rules were developed with the express purpose of safeguarding athletes in combat sports, particularly given the physical risks associated with Olympic-style boxing. 'Please be advised that, per World Boxing policy, '…in the event the athlete's sex certification is challenged by the athlete's federation or by World Boxing, the athlete shall be ineligible to compete until the dispute is resolved…' Khelif was not the only controversial boxer in Paris, as Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting also won a gold medal in women's boxing despite having been banned by the IBA in 2023. Morgan previously weighed in on Khelif's alleged gender ineligibility in November, when a 'leaked' report published in German outlet Bild claimed that she was a 'biological male'. He posted to his 8.8m followers at the time: 'Confirmation of what some of us said at the time: Khelif is a biological man. The gold medal should now be stripped and awarded to the best actual woman.' It remains unclear whether the report was legitimate, with Algerian Olympic Committee calling out 'unsubstantiated allegations (which aimed) to tarnish the image of an athlete who has brought honor to our nation on the international stage.' Piers Morgan, Sharron Davies, and Riley Gaines were all quick to weigh in on the alleged results The report was initially put together in 2023 via collaboration between French and Algerian expert endocrinologists working at the Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris, and the Mohamed Lamine Debaghine hospital in Algiers. The unverified report alleges that Khelif has male characteristics. But Jacques Young, an endocrinologist at Bicetre Hospital in Paris who reportedly co-authored the document, has told DW in Germany that he feels his name is being used to spread false information. Young also hinted he had been used to disseminate an anti-trans agenda. 'I think your statement perfectly reflects reality,' when he was asked whether his name was being used for those purposes.
