Marseille incensed by refereeing in Champions League defeat to Atalanta
It was a game that was decided in one moment. The pendulum could have swung towards Olympique de Marseille; instead it swung towards Atalanta. In second-half injury time, a ball bounced up inside the...
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AFCON 2025: Morocco already has Achraf Hakimi's replacement lined up
Achraf HakimiWith just weeks to go before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco already has a plan in place to deal with the likely absence of Achraf Hakimi.Achraf Hakimi is injured and could miss A...
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OGC Nice predicted XI v Freiburg: Sofiane Diop fit to start
Sofiane Diop was forced off during OGC Nice’s 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, however, he is fit enough to start against Freiburg on Thursday night. Diop came off as a precautionary ...
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'Politics should never be drawn into football' - Maccabi CEO
The chief executive of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv says it is "incredibly sad" away fans have been banned from his side's Europa League match at Aston Villa. "Politics should never be drawn into football", Jack Angelides told BBC Sport. Last month, the local Safety Advisory Group - the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches - informed Villa that no travelling fans would be allowed to attend the fixture in Birmingham on Thursday after police raised concerns, sparking a major backlash.
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![](/<figure><img alt="Marseille incensed by refereeing in Champions League defeat to Atalanta" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/get_french_football_news_702/5036fbe500cc10c7d29d1187c99e4df0" data-uuid="ff9339ee-197f-3134-86cf-9f671ce51408"><figcaption>Marseille incensed by refereeing in Champions League defeat to Atalanta</figcaption></figure><p>It was a game that was decided in one moment. The pendulum could have swung towards Olympique de Marseille; instead it swung towards Atalanta. </p><p>In second-half injury time, a ball bounced up inside the Atalanta box, striking Ederson on the arm. Marseille claimed a penalty. It wasn’t given and the Italian side swiftly broke, with Lazar Samardzic curling an effort into the top corner just seconds later. VAR reviewed the incident, the goal stood. </p><p>OM were incensed. Roberto De Zerbi picked up an iPad to show the referee the incident and was booked in the process. The club’s hierarchy did not mince their words post-match. <em>“Do I feel like we’ve been robbed? I feel that way. It is hard to accept,” </em>began Medhi Benatia in a post-match mixed zone interview attended by <strong>Get French Football News.</strong></p><h2>Marseille mayor denounces ‘refereeing error’</h2><p><em>“It is a situation where we can clearly see that the player benefits from an unnatural position, when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is lining up to shoot. You can clearly see that the arm changes the trajectory of the ball. And then after, they end up scoring the goal that kills us. I would have at least wanted him to go and look at the screen […] when you speak about it with them, they barely even look at you. That is something that annoys me even more than the penalty. They’re </em>(the referees) <em>arrogant. It’s annoying,” </em>added Benatia.</p><p>Marseille’s mayor, Benoit Payan, also weighed in on the controversy. <em>“This evening, such a big refereeing error deprived us of sporting values. Despite everything, [I am] proud of our OM this evening,” </em>he said on <strong>X </strong>(formerly Twitter). </p><p><a href="https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/#google_vignette">GFFN</a> | <a href="https://x.com/LukeEntwistle">Luke Entwistle</a></p>)
![](/<figure><img alt="AFCON 2025: Morocco already has Achraf Hakimi"s replacement lined up" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/foot_africa_articles_352/2b9db83a631a6e3e802c43e393100ea6" data-uuid="6dcb38b2-f718-3fd3-b714-5ae0e6fd4de3"><figcaption>AFCON 2025: Morocco already has Achraf Hakimi's replacement lined up</figcaption></figure><img height="0" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/foot_africa_articles_352/2b9db83a631a6e3e802c43e393100ea6" width="1200" data-uuid="6dcb38b2-f718-3fd3-b714-5ae0e6fd4de3"><p>Achraf Hakimi</p><p><strong>With just weeks to go before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco already has a plan in place to deal with the likely absence of Achraf Hakimi.</strong></p><p>Achraf Hakimi is injured and could miss AFCON 2025 on home soil. After a harsh tackle from behind by Luis Diaz during the PSG-Bayern Munich Champions League clash, the Moroccan star left the pitch in tears. Late yesterday, <a href="https://foot-africa.com/en/news/official-achraf-hakimi-injury-psg-delivers-its-verdict-948539/">PSG provided an update on the right-back's condition.</a><em>"Achraf Hakimi has suffered a severe sprain to his left ankle, which will keep him sidelined for several weeks,"</em> the club said in its press release.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="fr">Les chutes font partie du chemin, le retour fait la différence 💪🏽 <a href="https://t.co/CJO5Egyyjc">pic.twitter.com/CJO5Egyyjc</a></p>— Achraf Hakimi (@AchrafHakimi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AchrafHakimi/status/1986129364677693734?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2025</a></blockquote><p>Since then, no official recovery timeline has been announced, but Spanish media close to the player’s camp mention a layoff of between 8 and 10 weeks. It's no secret Hakimi is a key pillar for Walid Regragui’s squad. However, the Atlas Lions’ coach already has a backup plan in case Hakimi misses the tournament or part of it. According to Al Mountakhab, Noussair Mazraoui is the option being considered by the coach.</p>)
![](/<figure><img alt="OGC Nice predicted XI v Freiburg: Sofiane Diop fit to start" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/get_french_football_news_702/0d907fecef06a26d1e0a6400c2dd5840" data-uuid="48a842ee-cc82-3fc0-bced-9d24879b8c64"><figcaption>OGC Nice predicted XI v Freiburg: Sofiane Diop fit to start</figcaption></figure><p>Sofiane Diop was forced off during OGC Nice’s 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, however, he is fit enough to start against Freiburg on Thursday night. </p><p>Diop came off as a precautionary measure, just 30 minutes after coming on against PSG. His return is a boost for Nice, who continue to deal with injury issues. Franck Haise will also be able to count on Mohamed-Ali Cho, also returning from injury, although Terem Moffi remains sidelined. Moise Bombito, Youssouf Ndayishimiye, and Mohamed Abdelmonem all also miss out with injury. France international Jonathan Clauss is suspended.</p><p>There is a question mark surrounding the participation of Kojo Peprah Oppong, who has a sore Achilles tendon after being on the receiving end of a studs-up tackle over the weekend. </p><h2>OGC Nice likely line-up v Freiburg</h2><p>Yehvann Diouf; Melvin Bard, Juma Bah, Antoine Mendy; Ali Abdi, Charles Vanhoutte, Hicham Boudaoui, Tom Louchet; Jérémie Boga, Kevin Carlos, Sofiane Diop. (L’Éq)</p><p><a href="https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/">GFFN</a> |<a href="https://x.com/LukeEntwistle"> Luke Entwistle</a></p>)
![](/<figure><img alt="The inside of Villa Park" height="576" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/bbc_us_articles_995/fb3bf9caf75747d4cfc03b48e76ac6ad" width="1024" data-uuid="d39ba9cf-338e-3196-9a49-0491d54a780f"><figcaption>[Getty Images]</figcaption></figure><p>The chief executive of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv says it is "incredibly sad" away fans have been banned from his side's Europa League match at Aston Villa.</p><p>"Politics should never be drawn into football", Jack Angelides told BBC Sport.</p><p>Last month, the local Safety Advisory Group - the body responsible for issuing safety certificates for matches - informed Villa that no travelling fans would be allowed to attend the fixture in Birmingham on Thursday after police raised concerns, sparking a major backlash.</p><p>The decision became the focus of parliamentary-level debate and Maccabi later said supporters would not travel to Birmingham for safety reasons.</p><p>"It became a political issue and we're not a pawn in a political game, we're a football club", said Angelides after his squad arrived in the city.</p><p>"Our strengths are running a football club and playing football.</p><p>"It's incredibly sad and I think it's a concerning and a worrying sign."</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c781xdjn0qwo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Blink%5D-%5Bsport%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D">Read more of Dan's interview here</a></p><img class="tracking-img" height="1" src="https://a1.api.bbc.co.uk/hit.xiti/?s=598314&p=sport.football.articles.c4gw2edy28no.page&x1=%5Burn%3Abbc%3Aoptimo%3Aasset%3Ac4gw2edy28no%5D&x4=%5Ben-gb%5D&x5=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fsport%2Ffootball%2Farticles%2Fc4gw2edy28no%5D&x7=%5Barticle%5D&x8=%5Bsynd_nojs_ISAPI%5D&x9=%5B%27Politics+should+never+be+drawn+into+football%27+-+Maccabi+CEO%5D&x11=%5B2025-11-06T09%3A13%3A55.421Z%5D&x12=%5B2025-11-06T09%3A13%3A55.421Z%5D&x19=%5Byahoo.north.america%5D" width="1" data-uuid="c9be6e4b-a0e4-3929-896d-f79eb8e6321c">)