Theo de Parcin didn’t hide his disappointment as he emerged as the only player in Thierry Henry‘s French squad to come away from the Paris 2024 Olympics empty-handed.
While his team-mates received silver medals after a 5-3 extra-time defeat to Spain at the Parc des Princes, the Auxerre goalkeeper had the misfortune of being the lone wolf in the team – he hadn’t played a single minute throughout the Summer Games.
The 23-year-old was on standby for an Olympic call-up, one of four alternatives ready to step in if needed according to FIFA’s regulations for injury replacements. Unfortunately, he was the odd one out as his manager Henry gave all the others minutes during the tournament.
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As per the fine print of the rules Article 30.1 of the Olympic Football Tournament regulations set by FIFA, it seems all De Parcin needed to do to get his hands on a medal was make it onto the substitutes’ bench at least once during the games.
The rules state: “Should an alternate player replace a player and appear on the start list, said alternate player will also obtain a medal should their team finish first, second or third in the Tournaments, in addition to the replaced player.”
Do you think Thierry Henry should have made sure all players in his squad were involved? Let us know in the comments section below
(Image: Getty)
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Regrettably for De Parcin, it seems the Arsenal legend turned coach chose not to take the gamble of shaking up his other keeper options just to give his third-in-line keeper a spot on the bench, reports the Mirror. France’s three other substitutes each had a chance to play in the low-risk pool match against New Zealand.
With Group A’s top spot already in the bag, Monaco’s Chrislain Matsima, Lens’ Andy Diouf and Lyon’s Johann Lepenant were all part of Henry’s starting XI. Michael Olise, who recently made the switch from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich, was also seen without a medal during the podium celebrations.
This came after the midfielder took off his medal, clearly gutted at not securing the gold. The team’s star player stood out as one of France’s best performers this summer, netting two goals.
(Image: Getty)
While others were pleased with a medal, Olise was evidently not up for celebrating coming second. De Parcin might have jumped at the chance to take home some silverware. However, goalkeepers Obed Nkambadio (five starts) and Guillaume Restes (one start) took care of business between the sticks.
Meanwhile, Spain handed out the full 22 gold medals to their squad, including all four of their substitutes, with third-choice goalkeeper Alejandro Iturbe among them. Head coach Santi Denia’s team ascended to the top of the podium just weeks after they beat England to clinch the Euro 2024 title, marking a summer of unparalleled success.