France star’s mum had ‘bust-up’ with Mbappe and Pogba’s families during loss
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France were eliminated from Euro 2020 on Monday evening in dramatic fashion after throwing away a 3-1 lead and then falling short in a penalty shoot-out to Switzerland.
Kylian Mbappe, who was having a frustrating tournament, missed the decisive spot-kick to send the Swiss through to the quarter-finals and end France’s hopes of winning back-to-back major tournaments.
The fall-out, though, was tough, as reports emerged from the French media about arguments between the players’ families.
According to French outlet RMC Sport, there was a verbal battle between Veronique Rabiot, mother of midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who is also his agent, and the Pogba family as they clashed over Paul Pogba losing the ball for Switzerland’s equalizer.
Footage also emerged of Rabiot’s mother allegedly arguing with Mbappe’s family, telling the Paris Saint-Germain star’s father to make his son less arrogant before asking journalists to stop being so lenient with him.
According to another French outlet, L’Equipe, she is said to have told Mbappe’s family: "It is embarrassing how he struck that, for a player of his level; He hit it too lightly, I hope you are going to scold him."
Other families allegedly witnessed the incident after the defeat as well, as they were shocked with her behaviour.
Those weren’t the only bust-ups involving French players, according to EDS, who said the players themselves launched an inquest into the defeat following Mbappe’s penalty.
Rabiot and Pogba are said to have insulted each other after the game, with the Juventus midfielder disappointed with Pogba’s defensive efforts.
Real Madrid ’s Raphael Varane is claimed to have insulted Benjamin Pavard, once again unhappy with his defending, while Pavard blamed Pogba for the same and was backed up by Varane.
Kinglsey Coman, meanwhile, refused to be substituted in extra-time despite clearly suffering from an injury, as he wished to reverse the image the French public had of him of always being injured, but coach Didier Deschamps was insistent, reportedly saying to the player: “But you are not going to be playing Kingsley…”
The defeat raised several questions about the harmony in the French side and perhaps added to pre-tournament suggestions that some players, including Mbappe, were getting too big for their boots.
What did you make of Kylian Mbappe's performances at Euro 2020? Let us know in the comments below.
Before the tournament, there were alleged arguments between Mbappe and Olivier Giroud when the Chelsea forward complained about a lack of service towards him in friendlies before the tournament.
Then, there were also rumours of Mbappe changing the order of free-kick takers, with the PSG star bumping himself up the list to take more of them.
All of this will be looked at and aimed to be cleaned up before the French squad return to play with each other again in September during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
- Euro 2020
- Kylian Mbappe
- Paul Pogba
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