France star Kylian Mbappé stays on bench for Euro 2024 clash with Netherlands

LEIPZIG, Germany (AP) — Kylian Mbappé was left out of France’s starting lineup for its 0-0 draw with the Netherlands at the European Championship on Friday. He was an unused substitute.

Mbappé hadn't been certain to play after breaking his nose on Monday in the opening 1-0 win over Austria.

Mbappé trained wearing a face mask on Thursday and coach Didier Deschamps sounded optimistic that his star forward would be able to play. But Deschamps decided it was not worth the risk to play him against the physical Dutch defenders.

Mbappé appeared relaxed when he got off the team bus upon arrival at the stadium. He wore sunglasses but no bandage on his nose as he had when he resumed light training on Wednesday.

He emerged before Friday's game wearing a plain black face mask for the team's warmup, and sat on a football initially while the rest of his teammates stretched out. He was coaxed off the ball by a coach, then spent some time adjusting the mask and tapping it, as if to test its suitability, before he joined the substitutes in kicking a ball around.

UEFA equipment regulations prevented Mbpappé from wearing the same red, white and blue mask he wore to training on Thursday. “Medical equipment worn on the field of play must be a single color and free of team and manufacturer identification,” the rules say.

As well as featuring the French flag, Mbnappé's personalized mask the day before had his initials, the French Football Federation rooster, and his No. 10 flanked by two stars.

France and the Netherlands both have four points in Group D. Austria has three after defeating Poland 3-1 in their second group game earlier Friday. Poland has no points after two games and can no longer progress, even if it beats France in its final game because of its head-to-head record against Austria.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

France's Kylian Mbappe warms up with a face mask prior a Group D match between the Netherlands and France at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

France's Kylian Mbappe attends the warm up with a face mask prior to a Group D match between the Netherlands and France at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

France's Kylian Mbappe adjusts his face mask during the warm up before a Group D match between the Netherlands and France at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

France's Kylian Mbappe adjusts his face mask during the warm up before a Group D match between the Netherlands and France at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

France's Kylian Mbappe with face mask during the warm up before a Group D match between the Netherlands and France at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

France's Kylian Mbappe adjusts his face mask during a training session in Leipzig, Germany, Thursday, June 20, 2024. France will play against Netherland during their Group D soccer match at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament on June 21. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court said Friday the state’s strict abortion law is legal, telling a lower court to dissolve a temporary block on the law and allowing Iowa to ban most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy — before many women know they are pregnant.

The 4-3 ruling is a win for Republican lawmakers, and Iowa joins more than a dozen other states with restrictive abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Currently, 14 states have near-total bans at all stages of pregnancy and three ban abortions at about six weeks.

The Iowa Supreme Court’s majority reiterated on Friday that there is no constitutional right to abortion. Moreover, as the state requested, they instructed courts to assess whether the government has a legitimate interest in restricting the procedure, rather than whether there is too heavy a burden for people seeking abortion access.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds immediately released a statement celebrating the decision.

“I’m glad that the Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the will of the people of Iowa,” she said.

There are limited circumstances under the Iowa law that would allow for abortion after six weeks of pregnancy: rape, if reported to law enforcement or a health provider within 45 days; incest, if reported within 145 days; if the fetus has a fetal abnormality “incompatible with life”; or if the pregnancy is endangering the life of the patient. The state’s medical board recently defined rules for how doctors should adhere to the law.

The ruling previews the ending of a yearslong legal battle over abortion restrictions in Iowa that escalated in 2022 when the Iowa Supreme Court and then the U.S. Supreme Court both overturned decisions establishing a constitutional right to abortion.

The Iowa law passed with exclusively Republican support in an one-day special session last July. A legal challenge was filed the next day by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood North Central States and the Emma Goldman Clinic.

The law was in effect for a few days before a district court judge put it on pause, a decision that Reynolds appealed.

At the time, Planned Parenthood North Central States said it stayed open late and made hundreds of phone calls to prepare patients amid the uncertainty, rescheduling abortion appointments in other states for those who wanted. Court filings showed Iowa clinics had several hundred abortion appointments scheduled over two weeks last July, with most past the six-week mark in their pregnancies.

Since then, Planned Parenthood has ceased abortion services in two Iowa cities, including one in Des Moines. The other Des Moines location doesn’t currently have the capacity to serve patients seeking an abortion, so abortion medication and the procedure are being offered about 36 miles (59 kilometers) north in Ames.

Before Friday, Planned Parenthood providers had again been communicating with people seeking upcoming appointments about the potential outcomes of the high court’s decision, Masie Stilwell, the director of public affairs, told The Associated Press in early June. That included the possibility that abortion would no longer be legal for their circumstance and they would need to work with staff to reschedule in other states.

FILE - Pastor Michael Shover of Christ the Redeemer Church in Pella, left, argues with Ryan Maher, of Des Moines, as protestors voice opposition to a new ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy introduced by Republican lawmakers in a special session in Des Moines, Iowa, July 11, 2023. The Iowa Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on the state’s temporarily blocked abortion law, which prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant on Friday, June 27, 2024. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Des Moines Register via AP, File)