Paul Pogba was at the centre of tension with his France teammates during their Euro 2020 exit to Switzerland this week, according to reports.
The pre-tournament favourites looked set to secure a place in the quarter-final after Pogba’s superb long-range strike had put them 3-1 ahead.
But two late goals from Switzerland forced extra time and then penalties, while Kylian Mbappe missed a spot kick to eliminate France out of the tournament.
According to L’Equipe, Pogba was involved in an ‘altercation’ with Adrien Rabiot during the game, while the Manchester United star was also criticised by Benjamin Pavard for his poor defensive work as Les Blues attempted to close out the game.
‘On the pitch, it was crazy,’ L’Equipe journalist Sebastien Tarrago, who was at the stadium for the game, told L’Equipe du Soir.
‘They insulted each other very often. Pogba was at the centre of the game. There was notably an altercation with Rabiot. During the tournament, we saw all the great sides of Pogba. But personally I felt he was catastrophic defensively throughout the Euros.
‘Pavard was reprimanded by [Raphael] Varane. He [Pavard] replied, ‘you’re right but I’m all alone and Pogba doesn’t give a damn’. Varane then went to tell Pogba, who then asked Pavard if he had a problem with him. And this all happened during the match.’
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It was also reported that there was tension between Pogba and Deschamps, with the France manager keen for his team to see the game out with a 3-1 lead.
‘For a while, there were even tensions between Paul Pogba and the coach because they didn’t quite agree tactically,’ said Tarrago.
‘Deschamps requested for the team to be secure to keep the result at 3-1. But the midfielder thought he had to keep attacking. In short, this meeting was very tense and from all points of view.’
Rabiot’s mother, Veronique, was also accused of clashing with the families of Pogba and Mbappe who were all sitting in the stands during France’s defeat to Switzerland.
‘During a clash between Rabiot and Pogba, she commented. Which she always does a lot… and she got angry with Pogba’s family,’ said Tarrago.
‘It reached a tipping point with Mbappe’s missed penalty. She felt it was unacceptable for the way he struck the penalty at this level and she hoped the family would scold the player.
‘Fortunately, the families did not react too much but it was very complicated.’
