This is how Enrique blows off steam

Spain manager Luis Enrique says his daily streaming sessions to Spain fans during the World Cup are part of efforts to keep a fun vibe in his team’s camp, and he brushed off talk of having strict rules for his players in Qatar. Enrique took the unusual step of starting a daily Twitch livestream when his squad arrived for the World Cup to reach out directly to Spain fans. The sessions were an instant hit. “My streaming sessions and posting, everyone can have their own reading or interpretation, I didn’t start doing this with any specific goal,” he told a news conference. “There are so many cliches about training camps having to be very strict. I don’t know who came up with this. Imagine how long the players are off.”

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Rainbow items allowed at stadiums: FIFA

A day after Iran and Wales were eliminated, FIFA finally gave a public assurance that rainbow items and banners supporting protests in Iran will be allowed into stadiums. Stadium security staff had seized items with rainbow colours and slogans such as “Women. Life. Freedom” to stop them from getting inside stadiums. In the first week of the tournament, seven European teams including Wales lost the fight to wear multi-colored “One Love” armbands and some fans complained they weren’t allowed to bring items with rainbow colors, a symbol of LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate.

Tunisia fans whistle at French anthem

Some Tunisian fans whistled at the French national anthem when it was played before kickoff at the Education City stadium. In 2008, supporters at the Stade de France whistled at “La Marseillaise” ahead of a friendly game between France and Tunisia, a former French colony which gained independence in 1956. It led to an angry reaction from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who summoned the French federation to a meeting and demanded no more matches on French soil against the national teams of former colonies from North Africa. It was effectively the last game on home soil for France against Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia.

Valencia makes tearful apology to Ecuador

Ecuador’s veteran captain Enner Valencia could not control his tears as he apologised to his country for the side’s failure to reach the knockout stages. But Valencia, whose team came agonisingly close to reaching the last-16 and matching Ecuador’s previous best showing in 2006, was quickly consoled by fans. “We offer an apology to all of Ecuador,” Valencia said, crying in the aftermath of Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to African champions Senegal which stopped them from progressing. Agencies