The first under Zidane's reign: UEFA punishes France over an unexpected incident
What is the reason?
UEFA have hit the French Football Federation with a 10,000-euro fine after France's match against Belgium on 28 September kicked off late. The breach, during the UEFA Nations League, related to the preparation of the players' socks and their coloured tape.
French newspaper "L'Équipe" revealed that the incident happened during France's 1-0 win over Belgium. Zinedine Zidane and his players arrived on the pitch later than the specified time, delaying the 8:45pm kick-off by a few minutes.
The root of the problem? The players' socks carried the wrong coloured tape, a detail the technical staff had not checked before the match. Organisers rejected the equipment and forced the players to put it right before the start.
UEFA judged the incident a breach of Article 6.07 of the Nations League regulations, which requires national federations to enter the necessary information on match equipment via UEFA's "TIME" platform in the weeks before each fixture.
The socks were not the only mishap of Zidane's first camp in charge. The coach had already endured an awkward moment against Turkey, a game France won 1-0, when he missed the start of "La Marseillaise".
Zidane explained afterwards that the protocol moved faster than he had expected. "I was a little slow at the start. I would have preferred to arrive at the right time," he said, adding that he had not received enough clarification on the timing of the salute before the anthem was played.
Someone forgot the team's flag in the build-up to that fixture, too. Members of the delegation had to dash back to the dressing room to fetch it, another sign of the organisational confusion in the new staff's early days.
According to "L'Équipe", the technical staff thrashed out these errors at an assessment meeting on 6 October, after the first camp ended, hoping to avoid a repeat in the events to come.
France are now gearing up for their return. The players have gathered at Clairefontaine for their final two group-stage matches in the Nations League, away to Italy before hosting Turkey in Bordeaux. A draw in either would be enough to seal a place in the quarter-finals.
