WORLD OF SPORT
▷▷▷ Neymar looks out for young pitch invader
Neymar may have been a controversial figure at the World Cup with diving claims blighting the Brazilian’s reputation. But he showed his nice side yesterday with a friendly gesture to a young football fan who had invaded the pitch in the closing minutes of Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-1 victory at Rennes in Ligue 1. The boy, who appeared to be in tears, ran up to Neymar as he was being substituted, and the forward put his arm around him to comfort him and then gestured for stewards not to escort him off the pitch. Neymar then took his shirt off and gave it to the boy as a memento. Neymar’s noble act came as PSG maintained their 100 per cent league record as Angel Di Maria, Thomas Meunier and Eric Choupo Moting were all on target.
▷▷▷ Ravanelli says goodbye to life at Arsenal
Former Juventus and Italy international striker Fabrizio Ravanelli stepped down as Arsenal Kiev manager just three months after his appointment, the Ukrainian top-flight club have confirmed. The 49-year-old spent nine games at the helm of the club, which won promotion to the Ukrainian Premier League last season, winning only one of them with one draw and seven defeats. Ravanelli decided to quit after Arsenal Kiev suffered a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Olympic Donetsk on Saturday. At the post-match press conference, Ravanelli issued complaints about the “difficult conditions” of his job and even the nonpayment of salaries to the team’s players. Arsenal’s website said that Ravanelli’s resignation was accepted by the club which is now anchored bottom of the table and they would now look for a replacement.
▷▷▷ Deschamps defends Pogba’s public image
France manager Didier Deschamps believes the outside world has the wrong image of Paul Pogba, who played a key role in leading France to winning the World Cup in Russia in the summer. Off the field, Pogba has attracted criticism for spending too much time on social media and frequently changing his hairstyle than concentrating on his football. However, he shone for France in Russia, often sacrificing the attacking side of his game for the good of the team, before scoring in the final against Croatia. “The rest of the world had an image of Pogba which didn’t really reflect who he is,” Deschamps told Fifa’s coaching conference yesterday when discussing the Manchester United player. “He’s always thinking about the collective. There is an image of him that he is very individualistic, a bit self-centred, but that’s not the true Paul at all.”