The 2024 Euros have not gone the way Kylian Mbappe would have liked. He had to be pulled out of France’s first game against Austria after a challenge with Kevin Danso left him with a broken nose.
In a race against time, Mbappe worked with team doctors to return to the field as soon as possible. He even had a face mask made in the French colors in an attempt to play in France’s next match against the Netherlands.
Mbappe and the French national team shared media showing the forward wearing the mask, but UEFA swiftly stepped in and banned it from any games.
Why was Mbappe’s mask banned?
The mask is not allowed because UEFA rules prohibit players from wearing masks with more than one color, unless they receive a special exemption.
On Thursday, French national team manager Didier Deschamps expressed hope that his star player would be available for Friday’s game against the Netherlands. “Everything is going well after the shock we had. He was able to participate in some light exercises yesterday, and it will be the same this evening. Everything is progressing in the right direction,” Deschamps said. “We’ll do all we can to ensure he’ll be available tomorrow.”
Both France and the Netherlands won their respective first games and will face each other on Friday. The winner will likely top the group after the group phase concludes.
