France forward Nicolas Anelka has kicked out of the World Cup squad on Saturday, said Noel Le Graet, vice-president of the French Football Federation. His profane tirade was what got him benched, but now he won’t take part in Les Bleus third group game, either. Oh, what a mess coach Raymond Domenech has on his hands.
The Chelsea forward supposedly ripped into Domenech at halftime of Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Mexico, cursing at him and then refusing FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes’ request for him to apologize.
“Faced by the refusal of the player to publicly apologize, he (Escalettes) took the decision in total agreement with the coach and the official members of the delegation present in Knysna to exclude Nicolas Anelka from the squad,” the FFF said in a statement. “He will leave the French team camp this evening.”
Oh, my.