Neymar's… still on a World Cup roll
During the Brazil-Mexico World Cup match, Mexican defender Miguel Layun sinks his studs into the right ankle of Brazil's Neymar, who was already on the ground.
The action
His play-acting to win free-kicks and penalties, his theatrical tears at the end of group games, plus his over-reaction to fouls including those endless rolls on the ground, became a lightning rod for critics upset at Neymar's drama-prone brand of gamesmanship.
The scene
The moment
Neymar reacts by clutching the injured limb while writhing in apparent agony. But Layun's foul goes unpunished, and Neymar, miraculously recovered, springs up none-the worse to continue the game.
With an unmatched concentration of photographers on the ground, AFP documented every Oscar-worthy moment of the Brazilian star's World Cup action. In the ensuing social media storm -- with critics taking mocking aim at Neymar's histrionics -- AFP photos were showpieced on the networks -- though not always with the correct AFP credits.
The meaning of it all
Begin the story
AFP covers football and all the news surrounding it, way beyond scores and scorers and the sporting action on the pitch. Few players have been as closely watched, filmed, photographed and commented on as Neymar, who joined Paris Saint Germain for a world record fee of 222 million euros in 2017.
Next story
Previous story
Get in touch
Contact
AFP is a leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives. Drawing from an unparalleled news gathering network across 151 countries, AFP also is a world leader in digital verification. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world in six languages, with a unique quality of multimedia storytelling spanning video, text, photos and graphics.
USEFUL LINKS
OUR BLOGS
ABOUT AFP
Legal information Privacy policy
Correspondent
Fact Check
OUR BLOG
Yuri Cortez: right place, right time, right man
During the World Cup semi-final between Croatia and England, Salvadorian AFP photographer Yuri Cortez is unwittingly buried under a pile of celebrating players when Croatia scored the goal that took them to the final.
Quick as a flash, he picks up his camera and takes some remarkable close-up shots of the Croats' joy.
A matter of experience, luck, passion, professionalism. “ When the players from the bench arrive, this kind of avalanche throws me back, with them on top of me. Fortunately I didn't lose my camera. I guess at that moment they didn't realize there was a photographer buried under them in that mountain. When they realize I'm there, they help me up, ask me if I'm OK, and then come all the emotional moments -- handshakes, the kiss from Vida, which has become so famous… "
A specialist at covering major sport spectacles from the World Cup to the Olympic Games and iconic events like the Tour de France, AFP -- breaking new boundaries at the World Cup -- employed robotic technology and posted photo-journalists on the roofs of stadiums at games -- a world first. They were backed up by teams on the ground of sometimes six per match. Professionals like Cortez, AFP fielded dozens from all over the world -- a hallmark of quality.
The untouchable Ronaldo
Champions League quarter-final first leg, Real Madrid at Juventus, Turin. With one goal already to his name, Ronaldo scores a second, a remarkable overhead 'bicycle' kick.
The Portuguese striker's shot, taken with the ball 2.35 metres in the air and with his back to goal, is pure theatrical perfection from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
AFP's plan
AFP deployed four photographers at the stadium, capturing the magic moment in nano-second perfection. The photo went viral and hit front pages on five continents. The picture was downloaded more than 400 times in a few days on AFP Forum.
The legend
AFP sportswriters describe Ronaldo's status in football through his talent, longevity, huge self-regard and successes with club and country. They note that the star had until now lacked only one thing - a goal as legendary as the man himself.
Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
Diplomatic tensions grip the Korean peninsula in the run-up to the Pyeongchang Olympics. Nuclear-armed North Korea even threatens war.
Ties thaw as North Korea agrees to send a delegation to take part in the Games, featuring a historic joint ice hockey team and busloads of female cheerleaders sent from the North. The latest in a series of Olympics where politics took centre stage.
The agency put a multimedia team (text, photo, video) on 24-hour North Korea watch, focusing on the diplomatic drama but also the human side of a major geopolitical story.
AFP's network
With the team filing from the ground in Pyeongchang, AFP's worldwide network clicks into gear. Offices in Washington, Seoul, Pyongyang, Beijing, and Tokyo supply behind-the-scenes views and analysis of the strategic moves by major players with geopolitical context.
A special moment for the Korean peninsula
The success of a long-term strategy
Whether it is the FIFA financial scandal, Qatar's soft-power push or Russia's state-sponsored doping controversy, AFP delivers complex sports stories in simple and accurate terms. Away from the stadiums, the biggest stories are often the political ones.
AFP's Breaking News: Ball tampering scandal
The third Test match between South Africa and Australia. Australian fielder Cameron Bancroft is seen illegally tampering with the ball in an attempt to change its surface and alter its trajectory, thus making it more difficult for the batsman to play.
One of cricket's biggest scandals. Three Australian players are punished, including captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, each banned for a year, who both make tearful confessions about a conspiracy to win at all costs.
LIVE emotion - AFPTV is there at all the major press conferences with LIVE video capturing the emotion and drama, drawing an exceptionally large number of broadcast clients.
Johannesburg, Sydney, Auckland, New Delhi, Islamabad, Colombo, London. The cricket world reacts and AFP tells the full unvarnished story of one of the biggest scandals in the history of the game.
“ Mistakes have been made which have damaged cricket, I apologise for my part and take responsibility for it. It's a stain on the game ” David Warner on Instagram
The image - Matching its reputation as the number one agency in the world of sports, AFP Photo is on hand to snap every aspect of the developing scandal, showing the shame and anger both on and off the field and in the corridors of power.
The aftermath - AFP's cricket writers explain what it all means for the game and for Australia, a proud sporting nation caught cheating at the game they love. As for the sport of gentlemen and fair play, its image may never fully recover.
“ I can honestly say I have only wanted to bring glory to my country through playing cricket ” David Warner press conference on 31 March 2018
How we did it
Modern rugby union on collision course
It's a sport with a health warning. Four young players died on French rugby pitches in just eight months as a result of head injuries caused by bone-crunching tackles, one ex-player has sued his club claiming his life was put in danger while hardened professionals have quit, realising their bruised and battered bodies can no longer take the strain.
The whole story
Rugby has changed radically since the beginning of the professional era in the 1990s. The rewards are greater but so are the risks as tackles and contact on the field become more violent. Players sweat in the gyms, building more and more muscle, making themselves more powerful than they were in the amateur era. Concussions are seemingly common currency as are the number of injuries.
The facts
AFP Coverage
What do we do with sports
Year after year, AFP is increasing its coverage of the stories that drive the headlines as well as the non-sporting aspects of competition. Global sports is experiencing tremendous economic growth through sponsorship and mind-boggling TV deals. The result and the performance remain key to coverage. However, we also get to grips with the spectre of doping and the political manipulation of sports events. AFP covers not only the sports that matter but all the issues that matter in sports.
With an unmatched network of expert rugby correspondents in all of the game's traditional strongholds, from New Zealand, the home of the world champion All Blacks, to Argentina via Australia, South Africa and Great Britain, AFP has made sure it is at the heart of the coverage of this modern-day crisis in the sport by reporting on the investigations, the expert views as well as the possible solutions.
STORY
HOW WE DID IT
For AFP the coverage of the announcement had been planned for weeks. It was the result of close cooperation between the chief editors of the Sports department, the Tokyo bureau and the Lausanne bureau, where AFP has an office in the very heart of the Olympic movement, the Maison du Sport International, which houses a dozen international sports federations. This proximity allowed our journalist Eric Bernaudeau to build a network of contacts. His sources and those developed by our Tokyo bureau helped us to keep track of the fast-evolving situation in the buildup to the day of the historic postponement. In the four hours that follow the Flash, AFP sent out more than 10,000 words of reports, reactions and analysis in a range of languages. This was enriched by photos, videos and graphics. Now we are looking forward to the Olympics taking place in 2021.
Advance planning
What happened
Finally, at 1:51pm on March 24, AFP sent a Flash from Lausanne: "Tokyo Olympics postponed: IOC". The use of a Flash, reserved for events that leave their mark on history such as the election of a US president or the result of a football World Cup final, illustrates the impact of this decision on 200 participating countries, 11,000 athletes and billions of TV viewers.
The organisers of the biggest event of them all, the Olympic Games, bided their time. The Games were due to take place in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9. For several weeks, the International Olympic Committee and the local Japanese organisers mulled over their options. Meanwhile, the pressure from athletes, governments and the public ratcheted up.
Olympic dilemma
Background
Football leagues from the Premier League to La Liga, and US sports leagues including the NBA and the MLB, suspended their seasons. The Champions League was put on hold while Euro 2020 and the Tour de France were postponed. Wimbledon and the British Open golf were simply cancelled.
In the spring of 2020, coronavirus was spreading across the world from its origins in China. Country by country and continent by continent the world went into lockdown. Sport was brought to a halt.
Tokyo 2020, a historical postponement...
Contactez-nous
For AFP the coverage of the announcement has been planned for weeks. It is the result of close cooperation between the chief editors of the Sports department, the Tokyo bureau and the Lausanne bureau, where AFP has an office in the very heart of the Olympic movement, the Maison du Sport International, which houses a dozen international sports federations. This proximity allows our journalist Eric Bernaudeau to build a network of contacts. His sources and those developed by our Tokyo bureau help us to keep track of the fast-evolving situation in the buildup to the day of the historic postponement. In the four hours that follow the Flash, AFP sends out more than 10,000 words of reports, reactions and analysis in a range of languages. This is enriched by photos, videos and graphics. Now we are already looking forward to the Olympics taking place in 2021.
Finally, at 1:51pm on March 24, AFP sends a Flash from Lausanne: "Tokyo Olympics postponed: IOC". The use of a Flash, reserved for events that leave their mark on history such as the election of a US president or the result of football's World Cup final, illustrates the impact of this decision on 200 participating countries, 11,000 athletes and billions of TV viewers.
The organisers of the biggest event of them all, the Olympic Games, bide their time. The Games are due to take place in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9. For several weeks, the International Olympic Committee and the local Japanese organisers mull over their options. Meanwhile, the pressure from athletes, governments and the public ratchets up.
In the spring of 2020, the coronavirus is spreading across the world from its origins in China. Country by country and continent by continent the world goes into lockdown. Sport is brought to a halt.
Football leagues, from the Premier League to La Liga, and US leagues including the NBA and the MLB suspend their seasons. The Champions League is frozen while Euro 2020 and the Tour de France are postponed to a later date. Wimbledon and the British Open golf are simply cancelled.
L'histoire
Tokyo 2020 The historical posponment
From spectacular crash to miraculous escape, the story of Romain Grosjean...
Start the story
The history
Formula One is a high-risk sport. Spectators, and even teams and drivers, sometimes forget how much the safety measures on cars and at circuits have improved since Niki Lauda’s accident in 1976 or the terrible crash that killed the legendary Ayrton Senna in 1994. These high-speed events last three days, from practice on Friday to qualifying on Saturday and finally the race on Sunday.
Behind the scenes of the interview with Raphaëlle Peltier
Raphaëlle Peltier
Sunday, November 29, 2020. The Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain. 5.13pm. On the third corner of the first lap, Romain Grosjean’s car veered off the track after colliding with Russian Daniil Kvyat and hit the safety barriers at 220 km/h.
The car was cut in half and was instantly engulfed in flames. After an agonising 28 seconds, Grosjean finally managed to clamber out of his car.
The escape
The 34-year-old French-Swiss driver made a miraculous escape, with just burns to his hands. The accident deprived him of his F1 farewell because he was forced to miss the two remaining races of the season and no team has signed him for 2021. The spectacular images of the crash were flashed around the world and everyone wanted to speak to Grosjean. AFP, thanks to its F1 specialist Raphaëlle Peltier, who has covered the sport since 2017 and was at the race, obtained an interview with a relieved and smiling Grosjean.
Behind the scenes
After four seasons interviewing drivers and absorbing information from the teams and the drivers, Raphaëlle Peltier is a well-known face among the F1 press pack. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, few journalists have been attending races.
Just a group of 20 text reporters, compared to around 100 in normal times, are following the circuit and AFP is among them. So Grosjean’s media representative gave a positive and immediate ‘yes’ to Raphaëlle’s request for a one-to-one interview. It was done by Zoom because coronavirus rules forbid text journalists from meeting the drivers in person, but AFP was able to use the images from the recording. L’Equipe and specialist French publication Auto-Hedbo were the only other media accorded such an interview. Everyone else had to make do with a virtual press conference, first in French, and then in English two days later.
Privacy policy
Legal information
