On the eve of the launch of Téléfoot, L'After on the L'Équipe channel, it's hard not to be struck by the choice of name. "L'After" has been inseparable from RMC's After Foot for 20 years , a show that has become a veritable brand in the French football media landscape. Upon seeing an advertisement from L'Équipe for its new program, Gilbert Brisbois, the long-time presenter of After Foot , didn't hide his astonishment: "Hello @lequipe, are you serious? 😂 "
The formula adopted by L'Équipe is strikingly similar to an appropriation of the identity established by its competitor. Same central word, same editorial universe, same promise of commentary and debates around football: even if Gilbert Brisbois himself does not use the word "plagiarism", the resemblance is striking enough to raise the question very seriously.
Legally, only a potential dispute would obviously determine whether there has been trademark infringement or violation of protected rights. But editorially, the re-release is difficult to present as a mere coincidence. The word "after" exists in everyday language, certainly. In French sports media, associated with a football debate program, it has referred for two decades to a well-known show, that of Gilbert Brisbois and Daniel Riolo.
The new program, the result of a partnership between TF1 and L'Équipe , will launch this Sunday at 11:55 a.m., immediately following Téléfoot on TF1. It will be hosted by Grégoire Margotton and will feature, among others, Bixente Lizarazu, Séverine Parlakou, Giovanni Castaldi, Virginie Sainsily, and Thomas Mekhiche.
The "After" show has been on RMC for 20 years.
This is what makes L'Équipe's choice particularly surprising. After Foot is not a recently launched program: it was created on RMC in 2006 and is therefore celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Gilbert Brisbois is one of its historical figures, notably alongside Daniel Riolo. In two decades, the name has become so established that the show is commonly referred to simply as "l'After" by its presenters, listeners and football fans.
RMC has even pushed this identity much further by launching After Foot TV in April 2025, a channel entirely dedicated to the world of the show.
L'Équipe is therefore not simply reusing a generic term lost in the middle of a headline. It is placing "L'After" at the heart of the name and logo of a new program... also dedicated to football and debate.
Same name, same football, same promise of debate: the coincidence is becoming difficult to defend.
The two programs are obviously not broadcast at the same time and their structure differs. Téléfoot, L'After is designed as an extension of Téléfoot , immediately following the long-running TF1 program. RMC's After Foot remains primarily associated with evenings and post-match analysis.
But this difference in broadcast time doesn't alter the striking similarity of the two brands' identities. An "After" show dedicated to football, featuring pundits and journalists who comment on and debate the latest football news: this is precisely the editorial territory occupied and defined by RMC since 2006. And visually, L'Équipe doesn't even try to downplay the word. In its advertisement, "L'AFTER" appears in gigantic letters just below "TELEFOOT ," at the center of the logo. The result inevitably gives the impression of a deliberate copy of a lexical concept already extremely well-established with a competitor.
L'Équipe fully embraces the name "Téléfoot, L'After"
This is neither a one-off advertising slogan nor a provisional title. Téléfoot, L'After is indeed the name officially chosen by TF1 and L'Équipe.
Vincent Broussard, director of the L'Équipe channel, recently detailed the project: "It will be called Téléfoot, L'After, will be produced by TF1 and broadcast on the L'Équipe channel from September 6th, at 11:55 am . "
He presents the program as "a kind of spin-off of the original show" , dedicated to debate and benefiting in particular from images of Ligue 1 and the French national team.
The project had already been unveiled this summer when L'Équipe presented its new schedule and the arrival of Téléfoot . The long-standing TF1 magazine, whose future had at one time seemed compromised , is finally getting an extension on the L'Équipe channel.
An inspiration that goes way too far
That TF1 wants to extend Téléfoot with a debate program is obviously not problematic. Football is commented on and analyzed on all sports channels. It's the choice to name this program "L'After" that raises questions.
Because in the French media landscape, RMC has dedicated 20 years to building this brand around football. The group has rolled it out on radio, social media, podcasts, and now with After Foot TV . And now a competitor is launching its own football program called L'After.
One could call it inspiration. But at this level of similarity, the word "plagiarism" seems difficult to avoid in the publishing world , without, of course, prejudging what a potential legal classification might be. Gilbert Brisbois, for his part, didn't need to develop a lengthy argument. A photo, a sentence, and an emoji were enough.
With just hours to go before the premiere of Téléfoot, L'After , the question is likely to stick to the new program: how could L'Équipe and TF1 have retained a name so directly associated for 20 years with one of RMC's most recognizable football shows?
