The French Football Federation has been fined €10,000 by UEFA after France’s Nations League match against Belgium started late because of an issue with the players’ socks and coloured laces.
The incident occurred during France’s 1-0 victory over Belgium on 28 September, in the first camp of Zinedine Zidane’s tenure as manager. France’s players, led by Zidane, arrived on the pitch after the scheduled time, delaying kick-off by several minutes from its planned 20:45 start.
French newspaper L’Equipe reported that the problem was caused by the incorrect coloured laces not being properly secured to the players’ socks. The coaching staff had not identified the issue before the match, and organisers refused to allow the players to begin until the equipment had been corrected.
UEFA ruled that the incident breached Article 6.07 of the Nations League regulations. The rule requires national associations to submit the requested match-equipment information through UEFA’s TIME platform in the weeks before each fixture.
The equipment problem was not the only organisational difficulty during Zidane’s first period in charge of France.
Before the team’s 1-0 win against Turkiye, Zidane missed the timing for the start of the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”. After the match, he acknowledged that he had misjudged the protocol.
“I was a little slow at the beginning. I would have preferred to arrive at the right time,” Zidane said, adding that he had not been given enough information about the precise timing of the pre-match salute before the anthem was played.
France’s preparations for that fixture also involved another mishap when the team flag was forgotten. Members of the delegation had to return quickly to the dressing room to retrieve it, adding to the confusion surrounding the new coaching staff’s opening camp.
According to L’Equipe, these mistakes were reviewed by the coaching staff during an assessment meeting held on 6 October, after the first camp had concluded. The purpose was to prevent similar incidents from occurring in future fixtures.
France have now regrouped at the Clairefontaine training centre ahead of the final two matches in their Nations League group. They will travel to face Italy before hosting Turkiye in Bordeaux.
The Italy fixture is scheduled for 12 November 2026. France are aiming to secure a place in the quarter-finals and need only a draw to guarantee qualification.
