March 28, 2024, 07:51:41 AM

Author Topic: French soccer players suspended over World Cup fiasco  (Read 4885 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline fatimarima

  • Hero Warrior
  • *****
  • Posts: 793
    • View Profile
French soccer players suspended over World Cup fiasco
« on: August 19, 2010, 04:15:18 AM »
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/08/17/france.soccer.meeting/index.html#fbid=lb4WwcnUS35&wom=fal

Paris, France (CNN) -- Four members of the French national soccer team were punished by a disciplinary commission Tuesday following an inquiry into the team's much-criticized performance and behavior at this year's World Cup.

The French Football Federation's commission announced that striker Nicolas Anelka -- whose expulsion from the tournament in June sparked a revolt by his teammates -- was suspended for 18 international games.

Former team captain Patrice Evra was suspended for five games and his deputy Franck Ribery received a three-game ban, while Jeremy Toulalan was ruled out for one match.

The commission said it did not suspend defender Eric Abidal after hearing his explanations for refusing to play in the final group match against South Africa.

Manchester United defender Evra, Lyon midfielder Toulalan and Barcelona's Abidal were said to have met with the commission in Paris Tuesday.

Ribery and Anelka, who play in Germany and England for clubs Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively, were not present at the meeting but were represented by lawyers at the session. Anelka's ban could effectively end the 31-year-old's international career.

The players have the right to appeal the commission's decision, the FFF said.

France, which won the World Cup in 1998 and lost in the final four years ago, was forced out of this year's tournament early on, during the group stage.

The team's troubles began after an argument between Anelka and former head coach Raymond Domenech during the game with Mexico. After the FFF expelled Anelka from the tournament, other team members huddled in a bus the next day and refused to train for their next match.

The FFF summoned the five players last week along with Domenech, his assistant Alain Boghossian, former FFF President Jean-Pierre Escalettes and former FFF official Jean-Louis Valentin.

New France coach Laurent Blanc dropped the entire 23-man World Cup squad for his first match in charge, a 2-1 defeat by Norway in a friendly international ahead of next month's opening Euro 2012 qualifiers against Belarus and Bosnia-Herzegovina


Offline fatimarima

  • Hero Warrior
  • *****
  • Posts: 793
    • View Profile
Re: French soccer players suspended over World Cup fiasco
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2010, 04:35:32 AM »
http://www.worldsoccer.com/news/anelka_laughs_off_ban_news_301107.html


Anelka laughs off ban
August 18, 2010

 

Nicolas Anelka says he is "dying with laughter" after learning that the French Football Federation has banned him for 18 international matches, and claims his international career was already over.

The FFF announced the sancton on Tuesday with captain Patrice Evra receiving a five-match suspension and Franck Ribery and Jeremy Toulalan banned for three and one games respectively.

Anelka was sent home from South Africa in following a dressing room row with coach Raymond Domenech and his team-mates refused to train before the country's final group game against South Africa in a show of solidarity for the striker.

After being informed of his punishment, Anelka insisted he had no intention of representing his country following the events of the World Cup.

"For me, this whole commission thing is a nonsense, a charade not to lose face," Anelka told France-Soir.

"The so-called punishment has no relevance whatsoever because, for me, the French national team was an issue which ended on June 19 when I was kicked out of the training centre at Knysna.

"This is just to entertain the public, to turn the page because Laurent Blanc needs to be able to work in peace. These people are clowns. I am dying with laughter."

Anelka, Evra, Ribery, Toulalan and Eric Abidal were all called to the meeting on Tuesday, although Ribery and Anelka did not attend personally.

New France coach Laurent Blanc imposed his own punishment on the players by excluding all 23 players from the first squad he picked as les Bleus boss.



 

1]; } ?>