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Did Olivier Giroud get testy with the French media? No.

Squeezing the last bit of fun out of the international break

Since his arrival from Arsenal in January, Olivier Giroud has been a model professional and gentleman. He’s said all the right things about Chelsea and playing for Antonio Conte. He’s shown passion in the pitch. We’re just waiting for that first Premier League goal to seal the deal.

Given his perfect behavior, it’s no wonder that the less savory elements in media seized on a false narrative to paint him in a different light this week.

The scene is the tunnel in Krestovsky Stadium, Saint-Petersburg after France beat Russia 3-1. Giroud came on in the 72nd minute, but the stars of the show were Paul Pogba with a free kick goal and Kylian Mbappé, who scored twice.

The media had grabbed Giroud for a tunnel interview when they spotted Mbappé passing behind him. They forgot the old maxim of “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and looked like they wanted to ditch the Chelsea man. Was he not pleased?

Actually, if you speak French, you’ll see he was being reasonable about it. If they preferred to speak to Mbappe, he was perfectly OK with it. But the assembled throng realized they were losing the bird in their hand and asked La Barbe Magnifique (The Magnificent Beard) agreed to finish the interview, which he did.

So, no actual drama. Just the tabloid media being the tabloid media. And providing us with a little distraction in one of those breaks that seems endless.

La Barbe Magnifique continues his impeccable behavior. Thank you, Barbe.

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