English, French players take field to Oasis to support victims

SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE » In an emotional show of support for the victims of the recent attacks in Manchester and London, France and England players walked out to the sound of “Don’t Look Back in Anger” from Oasis moments before Tuesday’s friendly at Stade de France.

The famed pop anthem was played by the musicians and the choir of the French Republican Guard, with the lead singer in uniform playing a guitar. There was huge applause rippling around the stadium after the iconic song — which enjoyed worldwide success in 1995.

Three attackers mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge and then stabbed people in nearby Borough Market on June 3. Eight people were killed and dozens more injured. On May 22, a man detonated a bomb as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, killing 22 people.

In honor of the victims, national anthems were reversed, with “God Save the Queen” following “La Marseillaise,” with the words to each anthem displayed on the stadium’s giant screen. Some of the French crowd joined in as the English sang. British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron, present at the stadium after a working dinner, also did.

France coach Didier Deschamps offered his counterpart Gareth Southgate a France shirt with No. 1 written on it.

“I simply told him that we were on their side because of what happened over there,” Deschamps said. France was hit by deadly attacks in Paris in November 2015 and in Nice last July.

France went on to win Tuesday’s match 3-2, despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half.

Spanish state prosecutor accuses Ronaldo of tax fraud

BARCELONA, SPAIN » A Spanish state prosecutor accused Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo of defrauding Spain’s tax office of $16.5 million in unpaid.

In a statement, Madrid’s regional state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four accounts of tax fraud from 2011-14.