Saturday, June 19, 2010

Anelka Thrown out of World Cup on Disciplinary Ground

France striker Nicolas Anelka would now be sent home following his refusal to apologize to coach Raymond Domenech for his rude behavior. The Chelsea star became furious when Domenech replaced him at the half time during their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico and attacked the coach with bad language.

After the incident, FFF (Federation Francaise de Football) asked him to apologize to the coach, but the player refused to do so. Now, FFF along with coach Domenech has decided that Anelka should be axed from the France squad and sent back home on disciplinary ground.

The decision has come as a big blow for the Les Bleus as they are now on the verge of an early exit from the ongoing World Cup. France drew with Uruguay in their first match before losing to Mexico. They now have only 1 points to their credit with a game in hand. Their hopes of qualification to the next round are now hanging on a thin thread.

This is not the first time Anelka has made the newspaper headlines for wrong reasons. Back in 1999, Anelka declined to play under the then coach of France national team Jacques Santini and was eventually out of France squad for a long time. Earlier this year, he criticized Domenech following a 2-0 defeat against Spain.

Now, it seems France coach would bring in Barcelona striker Thierry Henry in their last match against South Africa. Henry was overlooked in the first two matches, but it is pretty much certain that Henry would be handed a place in the starting eleven against South Africa.

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