What a turnaround this is.
Mamadou Sakho could be called up to Didier Deschamps’ France squad, with UEFA accepting that the substance he tested positive for shouldn’t have been on the banned list in the first place, the Echo reports.
As a result of his original 30 day suspension, our centre-back missed the end of the season – including a European Final – and wasn’t selected in France’s provisional Euro 2016 group either.
But with Raphael Varane and Jeremy Mathieu injured, Deschamps has until May 31st to rejig his selections, and although Samuel Umtiti has been called up as cover, there’s a feeling that the manager may turn to Sakho – who’s totally free to play – now instead.
We truly hope Sakho is called up, as this will be his only chance to play in an international tournament in his home country, a one in a lifetime opportunity. UEFA have severely damaged his reputation and if their error takes away Sakho’s chance to feature in arguably the two most defining moments of his career, a grave injustice would have been served.
Hopefully he’s kept himself fit and would be ready for Deschamps should the boss make the call.