Hazard, Vermaelen absent from Belgium training

Eden Hazard and defender Thomas Vermaelen did not take part in the Belgium football team’s training session on Tuesday. Hazard, who played a great role in Belgium’s victory in the second round against Hungary 4-0, suffered a contusion during training and had to stay at the team’s hotel in Haillan near Bordeaux. FC Barcelona player Vermaelen, who will not play against Wales on July 1 due to suspension, too remained in the hotel.

Drunk Englishman breaks into cop’s house

An “astronomically” drunk Englishman has been handed a five-month suspended jail sentence after breaking into a French police officer’s home during Euro 2016, believing it to be his own rented accommodation. Dane Robertson, a 25-year-old graduate from Peterborough, used a fire extinguisher to make his presence known before a brief struggle at the doorway with a person he believed to be an intruder in his Nice apartment booked on the website Airbnb.com. It later transpired that the man in question happened to be a police officer who had been disturbed in the night while sleeping in his own bed. He used pepper spray to incapacitate Robertson, who later revealed he does not follow football but had met up with friends who were supporting England.

Giggs to join ITV as a pundit  

Ryan Giggs will join ITV’s punditry team for the remainder of this summer’s European Championships in France. The Manchester United assistant manager will travel to France in the coming days and will sit on the panel for live coverage of Poland’s quarterfinal clash against Portugal. 

No more Golden Goal stories, Loew tells Bierhoff

Germany coach Joachim Loew will not be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his team’s golden goal over the Czech Republic in the Euro 1996 final, having heard the story far too many times from its scorer Oliver Bierhoff. Asked whether there would be any celebrations or even a cake for current Germany team manager Bierhoff, who scored both goals in their 2-1 victory over the Czechs, Loew was quick to say: No, no. There won’t be. “I will be happy if I don’t hear that story on Thursday as he constantly keeps telling it,” Loew said, amid loud laughter from reporters. “I will be avoiding him on that day.”  — Agencies