Lyon keeper banned over shirt antics

Paris (AFP) – Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes will miss Sunday’s visit of Dijon in Ligue 1 with a one-match ban for scribbling out the name of arch rivals Saint-Etienne on his jersey.

Teams in this year’s French Cup are wearing special commemorative shirts to mark the 100th anniversary of the competition, with each featuring the names of all the former winners.

But during Lyon’s 2-1 extra-time defeat at Marseille in the last 32 last month, television cameras showed Portugal international Lopes had crossed out the reference to six-time champions Saint-Etienne.

Not only did the stunt fall foul of the French federation, but Lyon then finished with nine men in a 2-0 loss to Saint-Etienne in an ill-tempered Rhone derby five days later.