Paris Olympics 2024 LIVE: Longest-ever VAR check in bizarre football opener, Murray expected to pull out of singles, Canada drone causes ‘Spygate’ scandal

Allez Les Bleus

It's an ideal start for the French men's Olympic football team as they breezed past the USA in Marseille.

Former Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring with a long-range effort just after the hour mark before Bayern Munich new boy Michael Olise made it 2-0 with a delightful curling shot.

A powerful header by Loic Bade sealed the win for Thierry Henry's men who are going for gold at their home Games.

France are also in a group with New Zealand and Guinea with Les Bleus to face the latter on Saturday evening next.

Single out?

Andy Murray is set to pull out of the men's singles competition at the Olympics due to his ongoing back injury.

However, the three-time Grand Slam winner is still due to play in the doubles competition with Dan Evans.

Murray said: "I need to make that decision this evening but I don't think so.

"Obviously me and Dan have made the commitment to each other that (doubles) was what we were going to prioritise.

"I think Dan is still going to play singles but last week he did a lot of doubles practice, that's what I was predominantly practising in training when I was in Greece and since we've been here, we've been practising and playing doubles sets together.

"That gives the team and us the best opportunity to get a medal, realistically.

"My back is still not perfect and the potential of playing two matches in a day is maybe not the best."

France's Olympics underway

France have kicked off their Olympics!

They're taking on the USA in their opener in the football.

Thierry Henry is manager and on the touchline while there are some stars in the starting line-up.

Former Arsenal man Alexandre Lacazette is captain while new Bayern Munich signing Michael Olise is out wide.

Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta leads the line.

Honoured

Both Tom Daley and Helen Glover have spoken for the first time after being named Team GB's flagbearers in Paris this Friday.

Daley said: “To be asked to be flagbearer is one of the greatest honours in my Olympic diving career.

"To be able to do it in my fifth Olympic Games and have my family here is a very special thing.

“It has always been a dream of mine, since I was a little kid. I remember in 2008 walking out behind the flagbearer right in the front line, because we were the smallest group of people, and to now be one of the two people to lead out the team is such a huge honour.

“If my dad was around now, he would be so incredibly proud, because he always said that you would know you have cemented your Olympic legacy if you are asked to be a flagbearer at an Olympic Games.”

Glover then explained how much it means to be given the role, saying: “This is probably the biggest honour of my life.

"I just love the Olympics and have always loved what it stood for. I still pinch myself that I am an Olympian, being a flagbearer and going down in history.

"I’ve never been to an Opening Ceremony before and I’ll be carrying the flag at my first one. It’s unbelievable to be in this position.

“The team is full of amazing stories and inspirational people, so to be representing every athlete’s individual story when I stand there is really important to me.”

Fly the flag

Tom Daley and Helen Glover have been selected to be flagbearers for Team GB in the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Diver Daley, who is competing in his fifth Olympics, has four medals to his name having won three Bronze's and one gold - the latter of which came at the last Games in Tokyo.

And rower Glover has two Olympics medals to her name, both golds, with the first coming in London 2012 and the second coming in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

The Paris Games officially start on Friday, although some events have already begun today.

This will be the first opening ceremony to take place outside of the stadium, with the show to take place in Paris' River Seine.

Messi speaks

Argentina's disallowed goal has sent shockwaves across the Olympics at football, with arguably the greatest footballer of them all seeming to have his say.

In a match that started at 3pm and officially finished at 7:07pm local time, Morocco claimed victory over the World Cup winners in shocking circumstances.

Medina thought he had drew Argentina level when he headed in a equaliser in the 16th minute of extra time following a chaotic phase of play that saw the ball hit the post twice.

Almost immediately after there was trouble from the fans as bottles and cans were thrown at the celebrating players with some supporters also breaking onto the pitch.

Both sets of players were taken off the pitch with the match suspended with still seconds left on the clock.

A decision was then made that the rest of the match would be played in an empty stadium with the referee saying there was still three minutes to play.

And in what is the longest VAR check in history, Argentina's equaliser was ruled out after one of the players involved in the attack was offside when Medina scored.

VAR pictures showed that the Argentine was offside by the slimmest of margins with semi-automated technology making the decision.

The decision was cheered on the Morocco players, who had been forced to stick around.

Morocco went on to win the match 2-1 in the first men's football game of the Paris Olympics with the players having to undergo hefty warm-ups to get up to speed again.

Messi posted the word 'Insolito', which translates as 'unusual', onto his Instagram story in a cryptic message in reaction to the news.

Longest VAR check ever

Here's the VAR decision that has caused chaos!

One of Argentina's players was adjudged to have been in an offside position and obstructed the Morocco goalkeeper.

The fan trouble caused the players to have to leave the pitch and while that was happening, VAR was checking the goal.

Due to the delay whilst solving the supporter issues, it meant the VAR decision took over 90 minutes to be enforced.

And the goal was ruled out, meaning Morocco had the lead again an after a restart, they held on to to win the game.

Unbelievable stuff!

'Olympics has always been special to me'

British tennis icon Andy Murray will play in his final ever tennis tournament at the Olympics over the next few weeks.

And he has spoken to talkSPORT about why he has made the decision to retire in Paris at the Games.

Murray said: “The Olympics has always been special to me and I wanted to be here again, I wanted that opportunity.

“It was never in my plans to play Wimbledon and not finish at the Olympics. 

“I wanted to be part of it as I’ve loved it, I’ve loved being part of the British team whether the results have been good or not. 

“These weeks have been unbelievably special. They’re very different from what we’re used to on the tennis tour. 

“I’m glad that I now get to finish my career here.”

Dujardin replacement named

Team GB have confirmed that Becky Moody will replace Charlotte Dujardin in the equestrian dressage team.

Moody will ride her horse Jagerbomb in the event.

She was selected to take part in the individual dressage, but will now also be part of the team equestrian.

Dujardin has been replaced in the Team GB line-up after withdrawing from the Olympics due to video footage emerging of her whipping a horse more than 24 times in one minute.

Jannik Sinner withdraws from Olympics

Tennis' world no.1 player has been forced to withdraw from the Paris Games due to tonsilitis.

The Italian was among the favourites to win a medal at Roland Garros but hasn't played since his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat against Daniil Medvedev.

Sinner, who will be replaced in the singles by Andrea Vavassori, confirmed his absence from the 2024 Games on social media.

“I am saddened to inform you that unfortunately I will not be able to participate in the Paris Olympic Games,” Sinner said in a statement.

“After a good week of clay training, I started to feel unwell.

“I spent a couple of days resting and during a visit the doctor found tonsillitis and strongly advised me against playing.

“Missing the Games is a huge disappointment as it was one of my main goals for this season.

“I couldn’t wait to have the honour of representing my country in this very important event.

“Good luck to all the Italian athletes who I will support from home. Forza Italia.”

Dujardin whistleblower wants to 'save dressage'

The whistleblower who released footage of Charlotte Dujardin whipping a horse 'like an elephant in a circus' did so in a bid to 'save dressage', says her lawyer.

Dujardin, who has won six medals including three golds in a glittering Olympics career, has withdrawn from Paris 2024 after the video emerged.

The whistleblower's lawyer, Stephan Wensing, who provided the elephant quip, said her client has had mixed feelings since the news broke.

In addition to her Olympics withdrawal, Dujardin was also provisionally suspended by equestrian's governing body, the FEI.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Wensing said: "It's not fun to ruin a career. She's not celebrating; she doesn't feel like a hero.

"But she told me this morning this had to be done because she wants to save dressage."

Coco Gauff: 'Am I dreaming?'

Reigning US Open champion Gauff has reacted to the news that she will fly the US flag at the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris.

Coco will be creating history when she steps out at the Olympics Ceremony as she will be the youngest American flag bearer in Olympic history (20 years).

She will break the record of youngest US Opening Ceremony flag bearer held by Cindy Nelson (an Alpine skier at the 1976 Winter Games).“I never thought in a million years I would have the honor of carrying the American flag for Team USA in the Opening Ceremony,” Gauff said.

“I could not be more proud to lead my teammates with LeBron as we showcase our dedication and passion on the biggest stage there is - at a moment where we can bring athletes and fans together from around the world.”

Gauff also took to social media to share two separate posts from Team USA announcing her involvement.

"What an honor… Thank you," she captioned her first Instagram story, with a follow-up post carrying the words, 'Am I dreaming?'

Nadal-Alcaraz cautious over Olympic win

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz tempered fan expectations that they are bound to storm to gold medals in Paris.

Spain have assembled a dream team for the doubles, with 22-Grand Slam winner Nadal partnering Wimbledon champion Alcaraz.

The pair have understandably been the main focus for the Olympic tennis event, but Nadal urged for caution ahead of their first match.

"I understand a little bit the morbid illusion of seeing us play together but let's not think that this translates into success, I think it's a mistake," the 38-year-old told reporters.

"Carlos hasn't played many doubles and I haven't played many doubles or many singles lately.

"We are going to do our best to try, at least, to leave with the peace of mind of having done everything possible to get where we can get (but) obviously, we have not been able to prepare together for a tournament like this, where there are other doubles teams that have been preparing," he added.

Alcaraz meanwhile shared his excitement over returning to the Roland-Garros red clay where he won on to claim the French Open.

"I have not had the opportunity to play many doubles tournaments, but obviously having the illusion of returning to Roland Garros, to these courts that I have always enjoyed playing... makes it easier," he said.

"We also have days of training, individually and doubles to adapt as best as possible again, for my part to return to clay and be able to gain confidence to start the tournament in the best possible way," he added.

Put to the test

World Aquatics have confirmed that Chinese swimmers competing in the Paris Olympics are undergoing increased drug testing.

The world swimming body has carried out the most comprehensive pre-Olympics testing programme in its history.

It comes in the wake of the doping scandal involving 23 Chinese swimmers talkSPORT.com revealed earlier, with 11 featuring in Paris.

“All Chinese swimmers have been tested out-of-competition at least eight times by World Aquatics, independently of any other anti-doping organisation and using a WADA-accredited laboratory based in Europe,” wrote World Aquatics.

Since the start of 2024, there have been 418 tests for the Chinese swimming squad, with an average of 13 tests per swimmer.

By comparison, the USA team have been tested an average of six times since the start of the year, with Australians an average of four.

"It is our top priority that our athletes compete in a clean and fair competition," said Husain Al-Musallam, President of World Aquatics.

"Our rigorous testing programme reflects our dedication to upholding the highest standards of integrity in aquatic sports and we are grateful for the ITA’s partnership in conducting it.”

Daley to carry Team GB flag after talkSPORT hint

Diver Tom Daley is the frontrunner to be Team GB's male flag-bearer at the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics.

The 30-year-old, who will compete in his fifth Games, is a leading contender alongside rower Helen Glover for Friday's proceedings.

Team GB will finalise their picks tonight, a week after the Olympic gold medalist kept tight-lipped over the possibility of being chosen.

During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT, Daley heaped praise on the incredible talent on offer for selection but confessed it would be an amazing honour.

When asked about whether he would carry the flag, Daley told talkSPORT: "I don't know. Who knows? I don't know when they even make that decision.

When asked who he would vote for, he added: "I haven't been asked myself to, like in terms of as an athlete, to be able to put names forward, but I imagine there's lots of names coming up.

"The likes of Dina Asher-Smith and Adam Peaty, Max Whitlock. We have so many amazing Team GB athletes in the team.

"So whoever does it, it's an amazing honour."

Coco Gauff will carry the flag for Team USA

Coco Gauff will fly the US flag at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony.

The reigning US Open champion was selected to be the women's flag bearer, making her the first tennis player to earn the honour for Team USA.

Gauff will join NBA superstar LeBron James as the opening ceremony flag bearers for Team USA.

Adidas apologises to Bella Hadid

Adidas has apologised to supermodel Bella Hadid after pulling a controversial 1972 Olympic shoe campaign that she featured in.

The Munich Games remain infamous for the harrowing event in which 11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian militant group known as Black September.

Adverts marketing the relaunch of Adidas' SL72 shoes, which were originally released during the 1972 Games, contained Hadid.

The 27-year-old American's father is Palestinian, and she has been a prominent critic of Israel's government and the war against Hamas.

Hadid's inclusion in the Adidas advert sparked backlash, with pro-Israel groups calling the campaign 'sick' and offensive.

In a post on Instagram, Adidas said: "Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign.

"These connections are not meant and we apologise for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world.

"We made an unintentional mistake.

"We also apologise to our partners, Bella Hadid, A$AP Nast, Jules Koundé, and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign."

Fallout from Chinese Swimming Doping Scandal continues

Paris Olympics organisers have been warned that pool events will be overshadowed by the doping scandal threatening the sport.

In April, the New York Times reported a bombshell story that 23 Chinese swimmers competed in Tokyo despite testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance seven months before.

11 of those athletes will be in action again in Paris including two-time gold medalist Zhang Yufei, and Wang Shun, who claimed gold in the men’s 200-meter individual medley.

The China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) claimed the swimmers unintentionally ingested the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) at a training camp because of contamination, and that the concentration was 'extremely low'.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was notified of the test results a month before the Tokyo Games in 2021.

However, WADA chose not to challenge CHINADA’s conclusion due to insufficient evidence to disprove their contamination theory - but dismissed allegations that the case was mishandled.

Therefore, WADA considered the athletes innocent and were under no obligation to reveal the case, with China's 30-person swimming team going on to win six medals, including three golds, in Tokyo.

The release of the scandal now has seen Michael Phelps, Adam Peaty, and Katie Ledecky all publicly criticise the anti-doping body.

Rob Koehler, director of international sports advocacy group Global Athlete, has now warned the simmering tension could boil over.

“If any of those 11 Chinese swimmers hit a podium,” he told CNN, “they will absolutely lose it.”

Australia's Olympics COVID outbreak deepens

Any faint hopes that the spread of COVID-19 ruining athletes' Olympic dreams could be confined to the Tokyo Games are over.

Australia's women's water polo team have endured an outbreak of positive results, with nearly half the squad suffering from the virus.

Anna Meares, the Australian Olympic Team's Chef-de-Mission, confirmed five of her 13-woman squad are now infected.

She confirmed the athletes are constantly being monitored and tested at the Olympic Village where they will also wear masks, isolate and not visit high-volume areas.

"It is confined to the water polo team," Meares said, adding all of the women's squad had been tested.

"There is training again this afternoon and if those five athletes are feeling well enough to train they will."

"We treat COVID no differently to any other respiratory illness but want to ensure we have our protocols working as well," she added.

Meares said such concerns were 'part and parcel of every Olympic Games'.