MILAN (AP) — AC Milan’s lack of unity on the field was plainly reflected off it when two players almost came to blows on the bench.Franck Kessie was visibly upset after being replaced by Andrea Conti in the 69th minute of Sunday’s 3-2 derby loss to Inter Milan. The Ivory Coast international then grew even angrier and had to be held back by his teammates after Lucas Biglia said something to him.Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso said he was disappointed by the incident but managed to crack a small joke after the match.“Luckily I didn’t see it because I was focused on the match Sam Mewis Jersey , otherwise I would have probably thrown myself in the mix, too,” said Gattuso, who was known as a tough, no-nonsense defender during his playing days.“We lost on the field as well as off it,” he said. “This hurt me because it means that someone hasn’t understood what I believe in. For me, it’s a big defeat on a professional level.”Kessie and Biglia both spoke to the media after the match and publicly apologized.“I got it wrong because I should have understood the situation after he was replaced,” Biglia said. “I wanted him to understand that what he did wasn’t the right thing as it pertained to his teammate coming on. We’ve cleared things up and have talked in the changing room.“I am sorry to the fans, the club, my teammates and the coach … It was a bad moment https://www.thetopsoccer.com/uswnt/abby-dahlkemper-jersey , and now we have to look ahead.”It’s not clear what Biglia said to Kessie, but the Ivorian also expressed regret for the incident.“I apologize to Lucas,” Kessie said. “He’s older than me, and I apologize also to the fans and the coach.”Milan had been favored to win the match after a run of five straight league victories but there was little evidence of the good play on display on Sunday. The team appeared strangely disjointed, and top scorer Krzysztof Piatek received hardly any service during the match.Milan’s defense, which has been so resilient of late, also looked shaky with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and captain Alessio Romagnoli to blame for Inter’s first goal in the third minute.The three goals Milan conceded were as many as it had allowed in its previous 10 matches.Inter moved third in the Serie A standings, two points above Milan and six ahead of fifth-place Roma. The top four teams qualify for next season’s Champions League.OSPINA RELIEFNapoli goalkeeper David Ospina is expected to be released from the hospital soon after being kept under observation following a head injury.Ospina collapsed on the field during a Serie A match on Sunday.The Colombia international is reportedly in good spirits and was visited by Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti on Monday.Ospina was called up for Colombia’s upcoming friendlies against Japan and South Korea but will now remain in Naples.Ospina injured his head in a collision with Udinese forward Ignacio Pussetto during the opening minutes of the match but insisted he was fine to continue. However, he fell to the ground about 40 minutes later at the Stadio San Paolo.The 30-year-old Ospina was stretchered off the field and immediately taken to the hospital.Napoli beat Udinese 4-2. PARIS (AP) — Referees have been told by the head of French soccer to ignore a FIFA directive and no longer stop matches when there is homophobic chanting.In response, anti-discrimination groups urged Noël Le Graët McCall Zerboni Jersey , the French Football Federation president, to resign.Several league games in the top two French divisions have been halted by referees this season. But Le Graët wants referees to let play continue if there are more homophobic chants, starting from this weekend.“To say that football is homophobic, and could be the only symbol of homophobia in France, that’s a bit strong. I don’t accept it,” Le Graët told France Info radio station on Tuesday. “We’ll make sure there are no more banners (in stadiums); that’s different. But stopping games, no.”Le Graët said he is against homophobia but added that matches should be stopped only in cases of racism — such as racist chanting or monkey noises aimed at black players — or security problems such as fan violence.“Stopping matches (for homophobic chanting) doesn’t interest me. It’s an error,” Le Graët said. “I would stop a game for racist chants, that is clear. I would stop it for a fight, for incidents Tierna Davidson Jersey , if there is a danger somewhere inside the stadium.”FIFA earlier this year reminded federations and referees to follow a three-step procedure which allows them to stop, suspend and ultimately abandon a game if discriminatory behavior persists. FIFA did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment on the order from Le Graët, who is also a member of the world soccer body’s ruling council.The Rouge Direct group, which campaigns against homophobia in French stadiums and sport, called on Le Graët to resign and withdraw his comments immediately.Spokesman Julien Pontes said the group would go to court if he refuses to do so, saying it would argue that the FFF boss was discriminating between different forms of discrimination and making homophobia appear less of an issue than racism.“He must leave,” Pontes said of the FFF head. “At a minimum, he must withdraw what he said.”French President Emmanuel Macron and sports minister Roxana Maracineanu also weighed in on the issue.“Football should reconcile everyone. And I think that when football reconciles everyone, it should also carry our country’s values of unity,” Macron said. “I’m myself a football fan Christian Pulisic Jersey , I’m not naive. We know what it is when a stadium heats up, and sometimes the insults, to say the least, that fly. I’m not about to say that all this should end. But we can’t explain every day to our young people, and less-young people, that they must restore decency to the country, that they must stop the violence and to say at the same time that we must accept the worst.”Maracineanu rebuked Le Graët and reminded him of his leadership responsibilities in the “fight against all forms of discrimination,” adding that she will continue to “watch over the protection of all our citizens.”Last month, Maracineanu congratulated referee Mehdi Mokhtari for interrupting a second division game between Nancy and Le Mans after homophobic chanting.French anti-racism organization SOS Racisme earlier also hit out at Le Graët, saying in a statement that “his words contribute to undermining the efforts” made in the fight against all forms of discrimination — be it racism https://www.thetopsoccer.com/usa/timothy-weah-jersey , homophobia or sexism.“It’s time for Noël Le Graët to retire,” SOS Racisme said.The high-profile first division match between Nice and Marseille on Aug. 29 was halted for several minutes during the first half after Nice fans unfurled three banners with homophobic messages. There was also sporadic chanting against the French league with an anti-gay slur.Le Graët urged stadium stewards and security officials to do a better job in preventing fans from bringing banners to games.“Don’t come to stadiums with banners, it’s as simple as that,” he said. “We’ll make sure that they won’t be able to get in.”