Mbappe slams French football president for disrespecting Zinedine Zidane

News Network

January 9, 2023

Paris, Jan 9: France forward Kylian Mbappe has come out in support of Zinedine Zidane after the country's football federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet said he would not pick up the phone if the former midfielder called him to discuss coaching the national team.

The FFF had announced head coach Didier Deschamps's contract extension on Saturday after he led France to a second consecutive World Cup final, where they lost to Argentina on penalties in Qatar last month. Zidane had previously been a favourite to succeed Deschamps.

When asked if Zidane, a World Cup winner with France in 1998 and a national icon, would now manage the Brazilian national team instead, Le Graet told RMC: "I don't give a damn, he can go wherever he wants.

"I know very well that Zidane was always on the radar. He had a lot of supporters, some were waiting for Deschamps's departure... But who can make serious reproaches to Deschamps? Nobody.

"He (Zidane) does what he wants, it's none of my business. I've never met him, we've never considered parting with Didier. He can go where he wants, to a club... If Zidane tried to contact me? Certainly not, I wouldn't even pick up the phone."

Zidane was the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row when he was in charge of Real Madrid.

The 50-year-old, who also won the 2000 European Championship with France in a glittering career, is currently without a job after he left his role with the Spanish club last year.

"Zidane is France, we don't disrespect the legend like that," Mbappe said on Twitter after Le Graet's interview was aired.

Le Graet's dismissal of Zidane as a potential successor to Deschamps comes two years after he had backed the former midfielder to take up the reins if he was available.

France's Minister for Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera was one of many politicians who reacted to Le Graet's comments, saying the president of the country's "biggest sporting federation" had crossed a line.

"Yet more out-of-touch comments and on top of that a shameful lack of respect, which hurts us all, towards a legend of football and sport," she wrote on Twitter.

French politician Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade also demanded an apology from Le Graet, saying on Twitter: "Zidane is a monument of French football and sport. A personality loved by all French people... Our football deserves better than that."

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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