It was Barcelona defender Jules Kounde who had to take off his golden chain during the match. The 24-year-old full-back played most of the time with the neck ornament before being unmasked by the linesman and forced to take it off.
However, he was unable to do it himself and had to go to the sideline, where his teammates helped him. After the dismantling, it was possible to recognize from the television footage that in addition to gold, some kind of rainbow signs can also be seen on the jewelry, so speculations immediately began whether it was a covert action in support of sexual minorities.
“Players cannot wear chains. They can’t even play with clocks. I thought he took it off. It’s our fault. I don’t know what he had on that chain, but he’s very superstitious. He even wears it in training,” coach Deschamps told Kounde.
“I told him too: you’re lucky not to be in front of me. Otherwise…”, the French coach didn’t hide his annoyance at the decoration of his position.
Referees should check before the start of the game and during substitutions that players do not enter the field with unauthorized accessories. Kounde shouldn’t face any penalties in the tournament for an unauthorized fashion accessory.
France will face England in an extremely exciting duel in the battle for the semi-finals.
