William Saliba was left stranded on his own at Euro 2024 on Tuesday when the France team bus abandoned the Arsenal star at the Westfalenstadion.
Arsenal defender Saliba has had to bide his time to break into the France XI under boss Didier Deschamps, who has historically favoured Ibrahima Konate instead.
Deschamps made a switch this summer, though, pairing Saliba with Dayot Upamecano in central defence for France’s first three games at Euro 2024.
Les Bleus finished second in Group D, which was confirmed after their 1-1 draw against Poland at Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night.
There were awkward scenes after the match – not only because France failed to top the group and were pipped by Austria – but because Saliba was left behind.
France’s team bus departed around 9 pm while Saliba remained at the stadium until approximately 10.30 pm, according to French outlet L’Equipe.
That’s because Saliba was selected for anti-doping tests, which are well known for being time-consuming and many ex-professionals have complained about them.
Saliba, who played the full 90 minutes in the draw with Poland, was required to provide both blood and urine samples before he was allowed to leave.
The 23-year-old finally headed for the exit door around an hour and a half after his teammates had departed – in a black van – with members of France’s staff.
Saliba then rejoined his international teammates at France’s Bad Lippspringe base camp.
‘At the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, we will conduct tests at all 51 matches,’ the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) posted on their website earlier this year.
‘In addition, as part of the pre-tournament testing programme run in conjunction with national anti-doping organisations (NADOs) and FIFA, players from the 24 competing teams are subject to intelligent target testing.
‘This approach builds on the success of our anti-doping programme at UEFA EURO 2020, when all 1,616 samples tested negative.’
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