French Football Federation gives red card to Anelka, Ribery, Evra, Toulalan
The World Cup in South Africa brought a lot of joy to football fans across the globe. But it was a painful experience for some as well. France went through their worst ever World Cup in terms of performance and discipline which continues to surround the entire squad in a whirlwind.
After the exit from the first round, France was heavily criticized by the entire nation and their fans. To settle the brawl and to make new changes in the team, the French Football Federation (PFF) formed an inquiry commission to deal with the players in order to find the reasons for this debacle.
As the inquiry was completed, four national players from that squad were penalized by the commission. According to the inquiry commission, Nicolas Anelka was the main culprit largely because he incited riots amongst the touring players. One thing lead to another and the entire discipline and performance went haywire in South Africa. Later Anelka was suspended for 18 international matches by the PFF. Not only Anelka but other big names like Patrice Evra and Frank Ribery were handed punishments as well. According to media reports, former captain Patrick Evra was suspended for five international football matches. Quite similarly, Jeremy Toulalan faced a ban for one match as well.
The commission later explained the case and told the media that it did not suspended other important players like Eric Abidal. In a meeting called by the French Football Federation on Tuesday, Patrick Evra, Toulalan and Eric Abidal have met with the commission. All suspended players have shared their thoughts in front of the panel on Tuesday in Paris. However, the future of striker Anelka is still mired in controversies and is unlikely to make a comeback out of the current mess. It is very much possible that the case and punishment could bring an end to his international football career forever.
To recall, the entire brouhaha erupted when Nicolas Anelka and former coach Raymond Domenech altercated on an issue. The incident took place before the match against Mexico in the World Cup. The French Football Federation then banished Anelka from the team after the incident which was not accepted by other team members. Things took a turn for the worst when players refused to attend the practice session for the next match.
Newly appointed French coach Laurent Blanc still seems angry with the entire French World Cup squad. He has dropped all 23 French players who were in the World Cup squad in South Africa. The coach is going with an entirely new team to compete with Belarus and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the open qualifying games for the Euro Cup which will be held in 2012.
The disappointing performance in the FIFA World Cup by France has certainly made concerns and debates which are not good for the world’s favourite game. It is important for the FFF to resolve the issue in a friendly matter. Otherwise, various talented players will lose the chance to represent their country.
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