August 20, 2022
The brief from today:
Lyon fans stage atypical protest
As Lyon played their most recent Ligue 1 match against Troyes, their fans displayed a message in the stands voicing their disapproval with a specific issue concerning the players. Apparently, following the release of some images from a practice session on social media, it was discovered that certain players were wearing green football boots. The issue with this—as far as the Lyon fans are concerned—is that green is the color of bitter rivals Saint-Etienne, and shouldn’t be remotely visible at the club. As a result, the banner that appeared during the match referenced the images, and said players should “respect our traditions”. The fans even went a step further demanding that green be banned completely from the club. The contentious boots, worn by Lyon’s Malo Gusto, Rayan Cherki, Tete, and Karl Toko Ekambi, are the Adidas X Speedportal, and are part of the German company’s new line of footwear for the 2022/23 season. Coincidentally, Lyon’s main kit sponsor is also Adidas, so when Malo Gusto heard of the protest, he cheekily requested a version of the X Speedportal in blue and red to match Lyon’s colors. Whether Adidas obliges to the request is another story, but It will be interesting to see if him and his teammates adjust their boot selection going forward.
Malo Gusto, wearing the green Adidas X Speedportal, has now asked for blue and red ones from Adidas
Chelsea take action against racist fan
Last weekend’s match between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge was one of the most intense fixtures in world football. The tension in the game even spilled over to a touchline fracas between Chelsea manager, Tuchel, and Tottenham boss, Conte. That wasn’t the only off-field issue, however, as Tottenham’s Son Heung-min was on the receiving end of racist abuse from one of Chelsea's home supporters. The club have taken swift action after discovering the guilty party, and have now banned the fan—who is a season ticket holder—indefinitely from Stamford Bridge. This isn’t the first time Chelsea have banned fans for racist behavior, in fact, their big summer signing of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City revisited some of those memories with the attacker being the target of some Chelsea fans in the past. Credit to the club, however, for once again efficiently investigating such matters, and taking the appropriate action.
Son (right) during the match against Chelsea where he received racist abuse from a fan