Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

SPORT

Zlatan returns from heel injury in PSG win

Paris Saint-Germain defeated arch rivals Marseille 2-0 at the Parc des Princes on Sunday, with Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic playing his first minutes since September.

Published: 10 November 2014 08:29 CET

Zlatan returns from heel injury in PSG win

Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Photo: TT

The two-time defending champions dominated their visitors from the south in an intense encounter and wrapped up three crucial points thanks to an opportunist strike from Brazilian Lucas Moura and a close-range header from Edinson Cavani.

PSG are now just one point behind Marseille as their unbeaten start to the season, in all competitions, continued in the biggest fixture in French football.

The match in the capital struggled to burst into life despite the return of PSG's Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic who came on with 24 minutes left for his first action since September 21st.

Top ten quotes from Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa looked on in shock with the match 1-0 as his side's chances of an equaliser took a severe turn for the worse with 12 minutes left when Giannelli Imbula was shown a straight red card for what appeared to be a minor offence.

Cavani capped a convincing performance for PSG with a poacher's header from just outside the six-yard box with five minutes remaining that capped a perfect week for the capital club who also booked their place in the Champions League knockout phase.

"We played with a lot of intensity and it's a great victory which counts a lot for us," said PSG defender Maxwell.

"Zlatan played well when he came on and he gives us a different dimension. He's a very important player for us so it's good for him that's he's back but we're all looking forward to some rest now," added the 33-year-old Brazilian.

Sweden have named Ibrahimovic in their squad for their next Euro 2016 qualifier against Montenegro on November 15th.

Before the game, Zlatan took to his official Instagram account to dispel any rumours about his injury.

"It feels really good to get out on the pitch again to do what I love. That's all there is to it," he said.

"The injury is in the heel tendon and I've had to work hard on it the last few weeks. Everything else that's been written about the injury is pure fiction. But sure, it might be good reading as some seem to have worse imagination than others."

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Spain women's World Cup players demand more heads roll as Rubiales in court

Just hours after Luis Rubiales was quizzed by a judge for kissing midfielder Jenni Hermoso, all but two of Spain’s 23 World Cup players said they would not don the national shirt without deeper changes within the RFEF, demanding its current interim head also resign.

The statement came as the squad’s new coach Montse Tome was to announce the lineup for two upcoming UEFA Women’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Switzerland, which was promptly postponed, federation sources said.

“The changes put in place are not enough,” said a statement signed by 39 players, among them 21 of the 23 World Cup winners.

Demanding “fundamental changes to the RFEF’s leadership”, they called for the “resignation of the RFEF president” Pedro Rocha, who took over as interim leader when FIFA suspended Rubiales on August 26.

But the federation insisted Rocha would “lead the transition process within the RFEF until the next election”, insisting any changes would be made “gradually”.

A federation source said a leadership election could take place early next year.

“This institution is more important than individuals and it’s crucial it remains strong. We’ll work tirelessly to create stability first in order to progress later,” Rocha said in the statement.

Despite a string of recent changes, the federation remains in the hands of officials appointed by Rubiales, and the players are demanding structural changes “within the office of the president and the secretary general”.

Brought to court by a kiss

The bombshell came after days of optimism within the RFEF that the players would come round after it sacked controversial coach Jorge Vilda, appointed Tome in his stead and pledged further changes, not to mention Rubiales’ long-awaited resignation on Sunday.

On August 25, 81 Spain players, including the 23 world champions, had started a mass strike saying they would not play for the national team without significant changes at the head of the federation.

Earlier on Friday, Rubiales appeared in court where he was quizzed by Judge Francisco de Jorge who is heading up the investigation into the kiss, which sparked international outrage and saw him brought up on sexual assault charges.

At the end of the closed-door hearing, in which Rubiales repeated his claim that the kiss was consensual, the judge ordered him not to come within 200 metres of Hermoso and barred him from any contact with the player.

At the weekend, the 46-year-old had described the kiss as “a spontaneous act, a mutual act, an act that both consented to, which was… 100 percent non-sexual” in an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

Hermoso, 33, has insisted it was not, describing it as “an impulsive, macho act, out of place and with no type of consent on my part”.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Hermoso’s lawyer Carla Vall said they were “very satisfied” with the hearing.

“Thanks to this video, everyone can see there was no consent whatsoever and that is what we will demonstrate in court.”

Allegations of coercion

Hermoso herself will also testify before the judge at some stage, who will then have to decide whether or not to push ahead with the prosecution. No date has been given for her testimony.

The complaint against Rubiales, which was filed by the public prosecutors’ office, cites alleged offences of sexual assault and coercion.

Under a recent reform of the Spanish penal code, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault, a category which groups all types of sexual violence.

If found guilty, Rubiales could face anything from a fine to four years in prison, sources at the public prosecutors’ office have said.

In their complaint, prosecutors explained the offence of coercion related to Hermoso’s statement saying she “and those close to her had suffered constant ongoing pressure by Luis Rubiales and his professional entourage to justify and condone” his actions.

At the hearing, Rubiales also denied coercion.

Url copied to clipboard!