Northern Ireland fan dies
Another Northern Ireland fan died at the European Championship on Thursday. Northern Ireland spokesman Neil Brittain said the fan died at the Stade de lyon during the team's 2-0 win over Ukraine. "The fan passed away as he was watching the game in the stadium," said Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Irish FA, the game's ruling body in Northern Ireland. "This puts any result of a football match into perspective," Nelson said. No other details were given. This is second Northern Ireland fan to die during Euro 2016. On Sunday, 24-year-old Darren Rodgers died after a fall in Nice, following Northern Ireland's loss to Poland.
Arrests continue at Euros
German police say they have arrested six Russian football hooligans after an attack on a pair of Spanish tourists and their companion at the square in front of the cathedral in Cologne. Police were investigating whether the suspects were involved in other disturbances during the European Championship in France. A statement from Cologne police says five of the men were immediately arrested after the incident Thursday evening by plainclothes and uniformed police. The suspects were drunk and found to have tickets to Russia's matches as well as face masks and mouth guards that police regarded as typical hooligan gear. A sixth suspect fled the square but was arrested in the departure lounge at the Cologne-Bonn airport before he could board a flight for Ibiza, Spain.
Rain dampens pitch
UEFA's tournament director says some surfaces at the European Championship have not been good enough. Martin Kallen says recent heavy rain is a reason the grass in Marseille is not as good as UEFA wants. Stadiums which stage non-football events - including the Stade de France and in lille - have longer-standing issues with quality. Kallen says "we have problems and we do our utmost." In Marseille, new turf was laid a month ago but Kallen says "it could not take enough roots" because of rain. A new roof at the renovated Stade Velodrome also deprives the surface of sunshine and drying winds. Kallen says playing surfaces are better at stadiums "where only football takes place," like Parc des Princes in Paris.
late goal is trend of Euros
Italy's 88th-minute strike by Eder to beat Sweden 1-0 is the latest in a trend for late winners at the European Championship. Five of the first 19 games have been decided by goals in the 85th minute or later. The fashion was started in the 89th minute of the opener by Dimitri Payet of France against Romania. Gerard Pique did it in the 87th for Spain in its first game, Antoine Griezmann in the 90th, again for France against Albania, while Daniel Sturridge scored in stoppage time for England. Six stoppage time goals so far — out of a total 35 — make it the most prolific period of Euro 2016 games. When a team wins 2-0, it's most likely that the second goal came in added time too: by Payet again, or Bastian Schweinsteiger, Graziano Pelle, or Niall McGinn.