Anelka sent packing & other French news.

[dwolfman]

Domenech refusing to shake Parreira's hand after the Fra-RSA match.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/EDrq1SM9f_o" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/EDrq1SM9f_o</a>

I love the Englishman's quote: so the World Cup ended up like World War II... French surrender pathetically early, Americans come in last minute to steal the glory an we are left to fight off the Germans!

[dinho]

not surprised at all that they woulda pin this one on the black man, it was only a matter of the time. What all ah dem want to say, but won't say in clear terms is them black men come on the team and causing trouble and shaming we country. steups..

Like they forget Zidane black too.

[Jah Gol]

Arrogant Frenchmen !

[Dutty]

not surprised at all that they woulda pin this one on the black man, it was only a matter of the time. What all ah dem want to say, but won't say in clear terms is them black men come on the team and causing trouble and shaming we country. steups..

Like they forget Zidane black too.

but dais exactly what conservatives sayin in de french papers...dem eh holin water on dey tongue

ah tort yuh say zidane an dem is "designer" blacks

[dinho]

not surprised at all that they woulda pin this one on the black man, it was only a matter of the time. What all ah dem want to say, but won't say in clear terms is them black men come on the team and causing trouble and shaming we country. steups..

Like they forget Zidane black too.

but dais exactly what conservatives sayin in de french papers...dem eh holin water on dey tongue

ah tort yuh say zidane an dem is "designer" blacks

designer 'african'.. ah mean at de end of de day what tribe he from?? steups 

[weary1969]

Henry and co could always say dey eh running underage hoes like d caucasian counterparts.

[giggsy11]

It finally came to a head; because I remembered a few years ago there were rumblings about the french team being to black.

[weary1969]

It finally came to a head; because I remembered a few years ago there were rumblings about the french team being to black.

CO-SIGN dey was only being PC B4

[Trinimassive]

Henry and co could always say dey eh running underage hoes like d caucasian counterparts.

Like you would say

ENTTTTTTTTTT 

[Midknight]

Henry and co could always say dey eh running underage hoes like d caucasian counterparts.

The hoe business was very equal opportunity if I remember well.

You had Ribery (white) Benzema (Arab) and Govou (black) all involved in it...

I don't really want to get too much into the race debate in France, but I could guarantee you one thing:

Nowhere in France is Zidane considered a "black" man. Descendants of Arab immigrants have their own category "Beur", and they (and no white man, or black man for that matter) will ever get themselves in trouble by calling them Black.

As smart Alec as dinho was being with his "designer Africans" crack, he was much closer to the mark than you'd believe.

If I read well, one of the minor controversies surrounding Domenech's selection was how by leaving out Benzema, Nasri and Ben Arfa, he had coincidentally eliminated the Beur element from the Black, Blanc, Beur equation that had done so well for them in both 98-00 and 06.

[Midknight]

not surprised at all that they woulda pin this one on the black man, it was only a matter of the time. What all ah dem want to say, but won't say in clear terms is them black men come on the team and causing trouble and shaming we country. steups..

Like they forget Zidane black too.

but dais exactly what conservatives sayin in de french papers...dem eh holin water on dey tongue

ah tort yuh say zidane an dem is "designer" blacks

designer 'african'.. ah mean at de end of de day what tribe he from?? steups 

Kabyle essentially

[palos]

Nowhere in France is Zidane considered a "black" man. Descendants of Arab immigrants have their own category "Beur", and they (and no white man, or black man for that matter) will ever get themselves in trouble by calling them Black.

As smart Alec as dinho was being with his "designer Africans" crack, he was much closer to the mark than you'd believe.

If I read well, one of the minor controversies surrounding Domenech's selection was how by leaving out Benzema, Nasri and Ben Arfa, he had coincidentally eliminated the Beur element from the Black, Blanc, Beur equation that had done so well for them in both 98-00 and 06.

It would be interesting to find out what the literal translation of "Beur" is in English.


Googled it....

Who are les Beurs?
The 1980s then saw the emergence then of la génération Beur, a generation of young men and women with their own specific cultural identity at once different from that of their North African parents and from that of their peers of European descent. The term Beur expresses a bi-cultural identity experienced as either plenitude - both Arab and French and belonging to both cultures - or as alienation neither French nor Arab and belonging fully to neither culture. I shall return to this idea later.

The term Beur itself does, in fact, mean Arabe and is an example of a form of slang known as le verlan. Le verlan is based on inversion of the letters of a word or of its syllables. For example the word femme becomes would become meuf and the word café would become féca and so on.

The Beurs are children of North African immigrants (primarily Algerian but also Tunisian and Moroccan) who were born in France or who have spent most of their life in France. Many, if not the majority, are the children or even grandchildren of the North African immigrants who settled in France during the economic boom years of les trente glorieuses. The term Beur then, designates a second- or third-generation Maghrebian. By dint of being born on French soil or by a colonial situation which recognized Algeria as part of France, Beurs hold French nationality (people born before 1962 were not automatically accorded French nationality but had to request it). More important still, they have been educated within the French school system, the main agent of assimilation since the early days of the Third Republic (1870-1940) where boys and girls traditionally `learnt' to become French men and women.

The term Beur does signify a crucial difference, serving to stress the gap between a younger generation born in France of North African origin and their parents. This cultural difference or separation from culture of the parents is a defining characteristic of the Beur generation as the following extract from Leïla Sebbar's novel Parle mon fils parle à ta mère suggests:

Je sais pas pourquoi ils disent Radio Beur, pourquoi ça beur, c'est le beurre des Français qu'on mange sur le pain? Je comprends pas. Pour la couleur? Ils sont pas comme ça, c'est pas la couleur des Arabes ... Les jeunes savent, moi je ne sais pas, j'ose pas demander ... Peut-être c'est le Pays ... El Ber, chez nous en arabe ça veut dire le pays tu le sais, mon fils, c'est ça ou non? - Le fils apprit à la mère que le mot Beur avait été fabriqué à partir du mot Arabe, à l'envers. Il eut du mal à la convaincre que Arabe à l'envers, en partant de la dernière syllabe, donnait Beur; où étaient passés les a, on ne les entendait plus alors qu'il y en avait deux ... Le fils ajouta que Beur n'avait rien à voir avec le mot pays. On disait aussi Rebeu pour Arabe ... là il n'y avait plus de a et à l'envers, on obtenait facilement Beur. Elle ne croyait pas qu'on retrouvait pas le pays dans Beur ...
Leïla Sebbar, Parle mon fils parle à ta mère (pp.27-28)

FULL ARTICLE

Interesting stuff.

[weary1969]

Henry and co could always say dey eh running underage hoes like d caucasian counterparts.

The hoe business was very equal opportunity if I remember well.

You had Ribery (white) Benzema (Arab) and Govou (black) all involved in it...

I don't really want to get too much into the race debate in France, but I could guarantee you one thing:

Nowhere in France is Zidane considered a "black" man. Descendants of Arab immigrants have their own category "Beur", and they (and no white man, or black man for that matter) will ever get themselves in trouble by calling them Black.

As smart Alec as dinho was being with his "designer Africans" crack, he was much closer to the mark than you'd believe.

If I read well, one of the minor controversies surrounding Domenech's selection was how by leaving out Benzema, Nasri and Ben Arfa, he had coincidentally eliminated the Beur element from the Black, Blanc, Beur equation that had done so well for them in both 98-00 and 06.

Ribery was d poster boi 4 d scandal.

[giggsy11]

Fri Jun 25 03:53pm EDT

The root of France's problems: hatred of Yoann Gourcuff

By Brooks Peck

After weeks of rumors and a stupendous crash and burn effort in their short World Cup stay, it seems France's problems can be drilled down to the rampant jealousy and ill-will for one man -- Yoann Gourcuff.

Through no fault of his own, the 23-year-old former Ligue 1 player of the year and French Player of the Year, apparently became the main source of division within the squad that would spiral completely out of control in just a matter of days. Senior members of the team like Nicolas Anelka, Franck Ribery, Eric Abidal and William Gallas, who grew up much less well-off than the son of French club Lorient's manager, tried to make Yoann an outcast and destroyed their team in the process. The, ahem, Irish Times explains:

It is no coincidence these are the players who have frozen Gourcuff out in South Africa. They resent the way the French press builds Gourcuff up as Zinedine Zidane’s successor. They envy the positive attention he receives from the media. They regard him as arrogant and pretentious because he reads books and expresses himself eloquently when analysing a game.

Raymond Domenech wanted to build his attack around the 2008/09 French Player of the Year, but several senior players objected, pressurising the coach to restore Henry or Florent Malouda to the line-up. In the opening game against Uruguay, Anelka and Ribery made their stance abundantly clear by refusing to pass to Gourcuff. [...]

Yet Domenech did not feel he had the authority to sanction them, and instead dropped Gourcuff for the second game against Mexico.

Reports of Anelka and Ribery refusing to pass to Gourcuff first leaked out after that match against Uruguay but seemed far too unbelievable to give any thought. What top professionals would sabotage themselves by letting petty infighting and jealousies get it in the way of who they pass to on the pitch? Of course, these rational thoughts came before training sessions were boycotted and traitors were accused. 

So when you shake your head and wag your finger or unleash a hearty laugh in the direction of this French team, be sure aim away from Yoann Gourcuff. Even though his red card in their final match against South Africa failed to help an already doomed cause. 

Photo: Reuters

Yahoo Sports-

[Bitter]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

[davyjenny1]

The stage they are at right now.. they only have 3 mins to hold on to it then evacuate what's left in de hole, What total mess of that team

[Observer]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

Maybe you just got a potential reason for him playing poorly. Just from an outsider point of view, Gallas seems to me to be poison. Almost always something with him, at Chelsea, Arsenal (against Kolo, Van persie and Nasri), now with the French team mates.

[weary1969]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

Maybe you just got a potential reason for him playing poorly. Just from an outsider point of view, Gallas seems to me to be poison. Almost always something with him, at Chelsea, Arsenal (against Kolo, Van persie and Nasri), now with the French team mates.

Doh insult poison

[Trinimassive]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

Maybe you just got a potential reason for him playing poorly. Just from an outsider point of view, Gallas seems to me to be poison. Almost always something with him, at Chelsea, Arsenal (against Kolo, Van persie and Nasri), now with the French team mates.

I wouldn't say the man poison though. Some people could take sh*t and some can't. He seems to be one who just don't take it. There was a reason he was made Captain at Arsenal (same way he was removed lol) but he stand up for what he believe. Cyah fault him for that. At Arsenal Bendtner been known to walk around like he is royalty (apparently he dating royalty) and refuses to take off he shoes like everybody does when told to, Adebayor say rightly that he disrespectful cause nobody else at the club does that and was gonna make him do it. Arsenal decide to get rid of Adebayor.                 

That fella Gourcuff seem to be the real problem. When yuh ah rookie on ah team yuh show yuh respect, the fella seem to not have to grow up showing certain people respect so he wasn't about to start and I don't think it's jealousy because Ribery was at one time touted as possible heir apparent to Zidane in the last World Cup but he didn't get the backlash that fella getting cause he work he way up in the team ranking.

Ah lot ah times the so called trouble makers like Anelka and Gallas get the blame fuh stuff but by people like them standing up for stuff is why change happen even if the "trouble makers" doh benefit from it.

[giggsy11]

I wonder if this is the racism that has been referred to? I was reading somewhere where Henry was even saying that karma hit the side because of the handball!

[elan]

FIFA warn the French Governement not to dismiss or careful how they ineterfere.

[Midknight]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

Maybe you just got a potential reason for him playing poorly. Just from an outsider point of view, Gallas seems to me to be poison. Almost always something with him, at Chelsea, Arsenal (against Kolo, Van persie and Nasri), now with the French team mates.

I wouldn't say the man poison though. Some people could take sh*t and some can't. He seems to be one who just don't take it. There was a reason he was made Captain at Arsenal (same way he was removed lol) but he stand up for what he believe. Cyah fault him for that. At Arsenal Bendtner been known to walk around like he is royalty (apparently he dating royalty) and refuses to take off he shoes like everybody does when told to, Adebayor say rightly that he disrespectful cause nobody else at the club does that and was gonna make him do it. Arsenal decide to get rid of Adebayor.                 

That fella Gourcuff seem to be the real problem. When yuh ah rookie on ah team yuh show yuh respect, the fella seem to not have to grow up showing certain people respect so he wasn't about to start and I don't think it's jealousy because Ribery was at one time touted as possible heir apparent to Zidane in the last World Cup but he didn't get the backlash that fella getting cause he work he way up in the team ranking.

Ah lot ah times the so called trouble makers like Anelka and Gallas get the blame fuh stuff but by people like them standing up for stuff is why change happen even if the "trouble makers" doh benefit from it.

I don't agree with your take on Ribery because, he wasn't called up to the French squad until very late (i think he made his debut in the last warm up match before the World Cup), as he was engaged in the middle of a campaign with the Under 21s. To say that he worked his way up the ranking and Gourcuff didn't is totally skewed, considering that Gourcuff played the entire qualification campaign for his World Cup.

Not sure where you got from the article that Gourcuff didn't show respect where it was due, but if you getting it from outside sources, I have those too.

Fact of the matter, Gourcuff comes from a completely different social background than most of the "leaders" on the French team, and that's where the problem lies.

I've heard him speak, and he's never come across arrogant or dismissive, both of which all of Ribery, Anelka and Gallas have been at some point or another. Unlike those three, when he speaks he actually shows a capacity to analyse games and doesn't deal in banalities like "we weren't strong enough blah blah blah.

Ribery on the other hand is the class clown who pulls pranks and makes joked behind the coaches' back etc. Also, if intelligence was his strong point, we would know about it by now.

More importantly, all of the three "trouble makers " mentioned have antecedents in one form or another. For most of the qualification campaign where he was fit to play, Ribery refused to play on the side of the field that he was requested to, and even engaged in a public dispute with his captain (Henry) when he came on as he wanted Henry's side.

Anelka was a basket case long before his fallout with Domenech, and that can be seen how quickly clubs were willing to ship him out, and in his failure at Real Madrid (where he was suspended for refusing to train incidentally)

Gallas displayed his "motivational skills" as recently as season before last at Arsenal when he was relieved of the captaincy after throwing a tantrum in the middle of the penalty area.

That said, Gourcuff's form dropped drastically since the french league came off the winter break in January, and this was one of the main reasons for Bordeaux throwing away a 13 point lead to not even making the Uefa Cup.
I think where Domenech fouled it up was by maintaining him as an automatic starter through thick and think. That would have definitely cemented his "teacher's pet" reputation among the others...

[Trinimassive]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

Maybe you just got a potential reason for him playing poorly. Just from an outsider point of view, Gallas seems to me to be poison. Almost always something with him, at Chelsea, Arsenal (against Kolo, Van persie and Nasri), now with the French team mates.

I wouldn't say the man poison though. Some people could take sh*t and some can't. He seems to be one who just don't take it. There was a reason he was made Captain at Arsenal (same way he was removed lol) but he stand up for what he believe. Cyah fault him for that. At Arsenal Bendtner been known to walk around like he is royalty (apparently he dating royalty) and refuses to take off he shoes like everybody does when told to, Adebayor say rightly that he disrespectful cause nobody else at the club does that and was gonna make him do it. Arsenal decide to get rid of Adebayor.                 

That fella Gourcuff seem to be the real problem. When yuh ah rookie on ah team yuh show yuh respect, the fella seem to not have to grow up showing certain people respect so he wasn't about to start and I don't think it's jealousy because Ribery was at one time touted as possible heir apparent to Zidane in the last World Cup but he didn't get the backlash that fella getting cause he work he way up in the team ranking.

Ah lot ah times the so called trouble makers like Anelka and Gallas get the blame fuh stuff but by people like them standing up for stuff is why change happen even if the "trouble makers" doh benefit from it.

I don't agree with your take on Ribery because, he wasn't called up to the French squad until very late (i think he made his debut in the last warm up match before the World Cup), as he was engaged in the middle of a campaign with the Under 21s. To say that he worked his way up the ranking and Gourcuff didn't is totally skewed, considering that Gourcuff played the entire qualification campaign for his World Cup.

Not sure where you got from the article that Gourcuff didn't show respect where it was due, but if you getting it from outside sources, I have those too.

Fact of the matter, Gourcuff comes from a completely different social background than most of the "leaders" on the French team, and that's where the problem lies.

I've heard him speak, and he's never come across arrogant or dismissive, both of which all of Ribery, Anelka and Gallas have been at some point or another. Unlike those three, when he speaks he actually shows a capacity to analyse games and doesn't deal in banalities like "we weren't strong enough blah blah blah.

Ribery on the other hand is the class clown who pulls pranks and makes joked behind the coaches' back etc. Also, if intelligence was his strong point, we would know about it by now.

More importantly, all of the three "trouble makers " mentioned have antecedents in one form or another. For most of the qualification campaign where he was fit to play, Ribery refused to play on the side of the field that he was requested to, and even engaged in a public dispute with his captain (Henry) when he came on as he wanted Henry's side.

Anelka was a basket case long before his fallout with Domenech, and that can be seen how quickly clubs were willing to ship him out, and in his failure at Real Madrid (where he was suspended for refusing to train incidentally)

Gallas displayed his "motivational skills" as recently as season before last at Arsenal when he was relieved of the captaincy after throwing a tantrum in the middle of the penalty area.

That said, Gourcuff's form dropped drastically since the french league came off the winter break in January, and this was one of the main reasons for Bordeaux throwing away a 13 point lead to not even making the Uefa Cup.
I think where Domenech fouled it up was by maintaining him as an automatic starter through thick and think. That would have definitely cemented his "teacher's pet" reputation among the others...

I'm sure you do know this was Ribery's 2nd World Cup. He was there in 2006 and actually had a good tournament which is why they were saying he was going to be the heir to Zidane (Well that was during the World Cup anyway especially after he scored that first goal (against Spain I believe).

So that is why I say he worked his way through the team. He been there for a while and was pretty much close to the same age as Gourcuff is now. So none of them were "jealous" when he was compared to Zidane then so it I don't see it as that logically. Those three just speak up and don't take sh*t doesn't make them wrong.

It happen in many sports. In the NBA Kobe was ah asshole everybody know that, he compared or sorry, he tell he self and others he better than Jordan. Doesn't make him a bad player but he did help to get Shaq shipped out. Destabalize the team for a while now it's "HIS" team. That fella coulda been doing the same thing I don't doubt it.

Don't think it only have to do with how well he speaks...Kobe don't only speak well but he also speak fluent Italian. (By the way I do think Kobe is a great player but he's every bit what they say about him)

[Midknight]

With the s**t Gorgouff was playing, I wouldn't have passed to him either.

Maybe you just got a potential reason for him playing poorly. Just from an outsider point of view, Gallas seems to me to be poison. Almost always something with him, at Chelsea, Arsenal (against Kolo, Van persie and Nasri), now with the French team mates.

I wouldn't say the man poison though. Some people could take sh*t and some can't. He seems to be one who just don't take it. There was a reason he was made Captain at Arsenal (same way he was removed lol) but he stand up for what he believe. Cyah fault him for that. At Arsenal Bendtner been known to walk around like he is royalty (apparently he dating royalty) and refuses to take off he shoes like everybody does when told to, Adebayor say rightly that he disrespectful cause nobody else at the club does that and was gonna make him do it. Arsenal decide to get rid of Adebayor.                 

That fella Gourcuff seem to be the real problem. When yuh ah rookie on ah team yuh show yuh respect, the fella seem to not have to grow up showing certain people respect so he wasn't about to start and I don't think it's jealousy because Ribery was at one time touted as possible heir apparent to Zidane in the last World Cup but he didn't get the backlash that fella getting cause he work he way up in the team ranking.

Ah lot ah times the so called trouble makers like Anelka and Gallas get the blame fuh stuff but by people like them standing up for stuff is why change happen even if the "trouble makers" doh benefit from it.

I don't agree with your take on Ribery because, he wasn't called up to the French squad until very late (i think he made his debut in the last warm up match before the World Cup), as he was engaged in the middle of a campaign with the Under 21s. To say that he worked his way up the ranking and Gourcuff didn't is totally skewed, considering that Gourcuff played the entire qualification campaign for his World Cup.

Not sure where you got from the article that Gourcuff didn't show respect where it was due, but if you getting it from outside sources, I have those too.

Fact of the matter, Gourcuff comes from a completely different social background than most of the "leaders" on the French team, and that's where the problem lies.

I've heard him speak, and he's never come across arrogant or dismissive, both of which all of Ribery, Anelka and Gallas have been at some point or another. Unlike those three, when he speaks he actually shows a capacity to analyse games and doesn't deal in banalities like "we weren't strong enough blah blah blah.

Ribery on the other hand is the class clown who pulls pranks and makes joked behind the coaches' back etc. Also, if intelligence was his strong point, we would know about it by now.

More importantly, all of the three "trouble makers " mentioned have antecedents in one form or another. For most of the qualification campaign where he was fit to play, Ribery refused to play on the side of the field that he was requested to, and even engaged in a public dispute with his captain (Henry) when he came on as he wanted Henry's side.

Anelka was a basket case long before his fallout with Domenech, and that can be seen how quickly clubs were willing to ship him out, and in his failure at Real Madrid (where he was suspended for refusing to train incidentally)

Gallas displayed his "motivational skills" as recently as season before last at Arsenal when he was relieved of the captaincy after throwing a tantrum in the middle of the penalty area.

That said, Gourcuff's form dropped drastically since the french league came off the winter break in January, and this was one of the main reasons for Bordeaux throwing away a 13 point lead to not even making the Uefa Cup.
I think where Domenech fouled it up was by maintaining him as an automatic starter through thick and think. That would have definitely cemented his "teacher's pet" reputation among the others...

I'm sure you do know this was Ribery's 2nd World Cup. He was there in 2006 and actually had a good tournament which is why they were saying he was going to be the heir to Zidane (Well that was during the World Cup anyway especially after he scored that first goal (against Spain I believe).

So that is why I say he worked his way through the team. He been there for a while and was pretty much close to the same age as Gourcuff is now. So none of them were "jealous" when he was compared to Zidane then so it I don't see it as that logically. Those three just speak up and don't take sh*t doesn't make them wrong.

The part that I bolded was referring to WC06, so yea I'm aware this is Ribery's 2nd Cup. What i was getting at is that he hadn't worked his way through the team to earn his "Zidane successor" tag, (which came even before the WC was finished) simply because he was parachuted into the team at the last moment.
In other words, I think Gourcuff did a lot more to "go through the ranks of the team" before earning his "next Zidane" label, than Ribery ever did.

The rest might be true, but I was just giving my (what i consider to be) informed take on the subject.

I'll definitely take your word on Kobe, I haven't watched baskeball since Jordan retired the second time. :/

[Observer]

This France team was a disaster before Goucruff was even a big part of it, that is all shit talk.

In Euro 2008 they finished dead last in their group (out in the group stage). They had all dem same men except Gourcruff. They eh win a dam game, scoring only one goal.
Ribery, Henry, Gouvou Anelka, Makelele, Gallas all of them. Ribery had a good WC in 2006, but has been very poor for France since.
People use to say Henry could not play with Zidane. So Zidane retire and France was struggling, they beg him to come back and France rise again. He retired so the team should have gone to the new leaders and none of them showed they had the quality to step up. Gallas and them using Goucruff as an is just looking to blame a young player for everything that is wrong with France.

[Richard G.]

FIFA warn the French Governement not to dismiss or careful how they ineterfere.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5330696/ce/us/france-watch-barred-government-action?cc=5901&ver=us

FIFA watching France for interferenceEmail Print Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG -- FIFA is monitoring the fallout in France over Les Bleus' World Cup failure, warning that it won't hesitate to suspend the 1998 champions if it discovers government interference with the team.

France President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to personally investigate the squad's meltdown, and met with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot on Wednesday to discuss ways to reform French soccer.

France was eliminated from the first round of the tournament after going on strike, failing to win a match and having striker Nicolas Anelka thrown off the squad for insulting the coach.


France's team page
For more about Les Bleus and their chances in South Africa this summer, click here.
FIFA statutes prohibit governments from interfering with the independence of FIFA members.

Iraq was suspended for such interference in 2008 and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who is French, said Saturday that there's "no reason to have a different approach for a European country."

Valcke said he had already spoken with Bachelot over the matter.

"I told them to be very careful, because every time there is interference FIFA will react like any country," Valcke said. "We will definitely look at what France is doing, and that's not just because I am French.

"No [government official] can ask for someone to resign. There is a system in place to run football around the world and that system is under FIFA. We are always warning people about how this pyramid is working. I hope to avoid having to send an interference letter for this situation."

In FIFA's official rule book, Article 13.1.(g) states that national federations are obliged "to manage their affairs independently and ensure that their own affairs are not influenced by any third parties."

At its 2009 congress in the Bahamas, FIFA members agreed to take a tougher stance against federations whose work was interfered with by third parties -- namely "politicians, governments, states, media, etc."

FIFA agreed then that federations should be punished even if they were not at fault for the third-party interference.

Greece was European champion when it was suspended from world soccer for several days in 2006 because its parliament tried to change a law regulating professional sports organizations.

Spain was threatened with expulsion just weeks before Euro 2008 because the incoming national government wanted sports federations to hold elections before the Beijing Olympics later that year.

Iraq was suspended for several days in May 2008 after its government disbanded all national sports bodies. The dispute threatened Iraq's place in the World Cup, and was resolved three days before it was scheduled to play a qualifier against Australia.

When countries are suspended, national and club teams plus referees cannot take part in international matches and officials are barred from attending soccer meetings.

A suspension would affect France's preparations to organize the 2016 European Championship. It was awarded the hosting rights last month by UEFA.

...

If FIFA makes this statement, shouldn't Jack Warner be relieved of his duties as FIFA Vice President instead of accepting a 'less influential' status within FIFA? Sounds like double speak to me.

Enjoy de day.
Richard G.

[Tallman]

Anelka brother sent packing too
http://www.ac-stlouis.com/?q=node/111