World Cup axe means it’s more pain for Payet

DIMITRI PAYET, Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette were the big-name casualties as France manager Didier Deschamps announced his World Cup squad yesterday. Payet suffered an injury in Marseille’s 3-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final on Wednesday and Deschamps felt he could not risk him in Russia. The former West Ham star has been put on standby along with Arsenal’s Lacazette and Martial of Manchester United. The Premier League players included in the squad are N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud of Chelsea, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, Benjamin Mendy of Manchester City and United’s Paul Pogba.

GIANLUIGI BUFFON admits he was wrong to hound referee Michael Oliver in Juventus’s Champions League exit. Buffon was shown a red card for raging at Oliver and faces a UEFA charge after resuming the abuse in post-match interviews. But he finally showed remorse yesterday. ‘It’s right I face the charge,’ he said. ‘I went over the line. I’m sorry to have offended the referee. He is a human being who does a very difficult job.’

LIVERPOOL have planned a Champions League victory parade. With the city hosting a wine festival and a regatta on the same weekend as the final — a week tomorrow — victory over Real Madrid would see the team return to Liverpool the next day to take an opentop coach along the waterside.