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Football players with the Colombian women's team have hit out at discrimination by their national association in a move that once again highlights the inferior treatment given to women's football.
The players said they have been treated as second class citizens for years but decided to speak out after authorities opted to withhold their $20 a day stipend and replace the female league with a semi-professional under-23 competition.
"We lack a solid base and an infrastructure that has our backs and gives us respect," captain Natalia Gaitan said.
The outrage came the same week the US women's team sued the US Soccer Federation for the same pay and treatment as their male counterparts.
All 28 members of the United States squad were named as plaintiffs in federal court in Los Angeles in a lawsuit that includes complaints about wages and nearly every other aspect of their working conditions.
Among the list of complaints made by the Colombians is that the football association still owes some players money from the 2015 World Cup, has failed to provide players with health insurance, does not pay for international flights and sometimes even obliges them to pay for their own jerseys.
The national team has not played since last July and has on at least two occasions gone more than a year without any training camps.
One player, Daniela Montoya, produced audio clips purportedly showing the vice president of the Colombian FA kept her out of the Rio Olympic squad because she complained about the poor treatment.
The Colombians qualified for the World Cup in 2015 and the Rio Olympics in 2016 but their recent inaction has cost them and they have not qualified either for this year's World Cup in France in June or the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The women quickly won the support of their better-known counterparts in the male squad, with Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez among those expressing their support.
"We reject and condemn any act that threatens a woman physically, mentally or emotionally," the men's team said in a statement.
"We support our companions on the Colombian women's team. Women's football must continue to grow and develop at all levels with all the (necessary) guarantees, and for that the directors and the players will always have all our support."
In a statement, FIFA and the South American Football Confederation said they "energetically condemned" any abuse or discrimination.
Kean strikes twice as Juve sweep Udinese aside
Juventus teenager Moise Kean scored twice on his first Serie A start of the season in a 4-1 home win over Udinese as the runaway leaders moved 19 points clear on Friday.
Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri rested several players ahead of next week’s Champions League last 16, return leg against visiting Atletico Madrid, which his side trail 2-0, including Mario Mandzukic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala.
However, the Turin side had little trouble seeing off Udinese as they scored four goals for the first time this term and stretched their unbeaten league campaign to 27 matches.
Kean opened the scoring after 11 minutes when he stabbed in Alex Sandro’s cross from close range and doubled the lead five minutes before the break by prodding home at the near post.
At 19 years and eight days, the Italy international became the youngest player to score at least two goals in a Serie A game since 18-year-old Giuseppe Galderisi in February 1982.
Midway through the second half, Kean raced on to a long ball and was brought down inside the box by substitute Nicholas Opoku, and Emre Can sent the penalty into the corner.
Blaise Matuidi completed the rout in the 71st minute with a stooping header that bounced off the ground into the top corner, before Udinese substitute Kevin Lasagna got a consolation with a fine angled finish five minutes from time.
Juve have 75 points, having won 24 of their 27 matches this season and drawn the other three, while Udinese are 15th on 25 points ahead of the rest of the Serie A weekend programme.
Second-placed Napoli visit mid-table Sassuolo on Sunday,
UEFA justifies PSG penalty decision in VAR explanation
Presnel Kimpembe's handball which led to Manchester United's extraordinary 3-1 victory over Paris St Germain in the Champions League was referred to video technology as it was "a serious missed incident", UEFA said on Friday.
The competition organisers released a statement on their website detailing the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after the system played a decisive role during the week's last-16 second-leg games.
The most debated decision saw PSG defender Kimpembe penalised for deflecting a shot from United's Diogo Dalot with his arm.
That prompted a review which led to Marcus Rashford scoring a penalty in stoppage time to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in the competition's history.
"The VAR, after checking various different angles available to him, recommended to the referee an on-field review following the penalty area incident," UEFA said in a statement.
"Following the on-field review, the referee confirmed that the distance that the ball travelled was not short and the impact could therefore not be unexpected.
"The defender’s arm was not close to the body, which made the defender’s body bigger thus resulting in the ball being stopped from travelling in the direction of the goal. The referee, therefore, awarded a penalty kick."
Porto also benefited from two decisions that were subject to VAR reviews in their 3-1 win over AS Roma after extra time
Porto were awarded a penalty in the 117th minute for a holding offence by Alessandro Florenzi on Fernando.
UEFA said the referee confirmed to the VAR that he had not seen the incident and asked for images to be prepared to allow him to conduct an on-field review, which resulted in him awarding the spot kick.
Roma then had an appeal in the opposite area turned down when Patrik Schick was felled by Moussa Marega which UEFA said had been witnessed by the referee and deemed not to be a foul.
"A VAR check was conducted, and the various images were studied carefully by the VAR, who did not find any clear evidence," UEFA said.
Dusan Tadic's strike in Ajax Amsterdam's 4-1 win over Real Madrid was also reviewed by VAR as the ball looked to have gone out of play in the build-up.
UEFA, however, said there was no conclusive evidence that the whole ball had crossed the line when the video was studied
