Gary Lineker hits out at FIFA after death of manager

Gary Lineker has hit out at FIFA's refusal to permit France to honour their manager's mother, who passed away last week. Didier Deschamps was absent from his side's 4-1 victory over Norway on Friday, having attended his mother's funeral, with assistant Guy Stephan stepping in to take charge for the final group stage fixture.

While Norway presented Stephan with a bouquet of flowers as a gesture of condolence to Deschamps, FIFA blocked France's request to wear black armbands as a mark of respect during the match. The decision did not sit well with Lineker, who is in North America covering the tournament for The Rest Is Football. He told L'Équipe: "The loss of his mother is a tragedy. It's truly sad, and I still can't believe FIFA didn't allow the players to wear black armbands."

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Under Stephan's guidance, France advanced to the knockout stages in emphatic fashion, with Ousmane Dembele helping himself to a hat-trick and Desire Doue adding a fourth. Although Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back for Norway in the first half, it proved little more than a consolation for the Scandinavians.

The result secured Les Bleus' third consecutive victory in Group I, following a 3-1 triumph over Senegal in their opener and a commanding 3-0 rout of Iraq just days later. France consequently topped the group and will now face Sweden at 8pm on Tuesday, June 30.

It comes as Lineker has remained a vocal presence while covering the World Cup this summer on location. The 65-year-old was left bewildered by FIFA's decision to impose a five-match suspension on Assim Madibo following a tackle on Ismael Kone which resulted in the Canada player suffering a broken leg.

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The Qatar star's mistimed challenge during the tournament co-hosts' 6-0 victory earlier this month left Kone needing urgent surgery after fracturing his tibia and fibula. While Madibo received a red card several minutes following the incident, FIFA opted to extend his suspension to five matches in the days afterwards.

It ranks amongst the harshest sanctions the organisation has ever issued to a player. In response, Lineker turned to social media to describe the ban as "nonsense" and "absurd."

He wrote: "This is a complete nonsense. It was clearly an accidental challenge which should not have even been a red card. He was also heartbroken by the injury to his opponent. Absurd decision."

Although he will be sidelined for the remainder of the tournament due to the injury, Canada confirmed the 24-year-old's operation was a success. They wrote: "Last night, Ismael Kone underwent successful surgery to repair a lower limb fracture. He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the FIFA World Cup 2026."

Kone's Italian club Sassuolo also released a statement, which read: "The operation to repair the fracture in his left leg was a complete success. The player will begin his rehabilitation programme in the coming days. The whole club sends Ismael their best wishes for a speedy recovery."