Lyon host Metz tonight in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France without full-back Fabio Grosso. The Italian World Cup winner has a swollen knee and will have to sit out the game at the Stade Gerland. Brazilian playmaker Juninho and France international Sidney Govou are expected to start on the Lyon bench, while coach [...]

Ligue 1 bottom club Metz will be docked a point and must play a home match behind closed doors after a racist incident there last month. Morocco defender Abdeslam Ouaddou, the Valenciennes captain, was racially abused by a Metz fan during the Ligue 1 match at Metz on February 16.

Metz said they would seek legal [...]

UEFA have fined Lyon 5,000 Swiss francs (£2,500) after the French club’s supporters used a laser to target opposition players in last month’s Champions League clash with Manchester United. UEFA’s disciplinary body said that the Ligue 1 side had been sanctioned “for incidents of an unsporting nature.”
Television pictures showed United winger Cristiano Ronaldo being targeted [...]

   Karim Benzema’s last-gasp goal earned Olympique Lyon a French Cup quarter-final place after a 2-1 home win over holders Sochaux. The France striker, who also opened the scoring 10 minutes into the second half, struck the winner a minute into added time when he poked home Kader Keita’s cross from the right. Benzema’s goal [...]

Lyon striker Karim Benzema has signed a contract tying him to the French champions until 2013. “We did what we had to do to keep him at Lyon,” club president Jean-Michel Aulas said on announcing the signing. “We did our best so that he does not go abroad. He deserves it.”
“It is out of the [...]