French kiss: Players back on field
The France World Cup squad resumed training here on Monday a day after they went on strike over the expulsion of forward Nicolas Anelka.
The 21-man squad jogged round the pitch while embattled coach Raymond Domenech chatted with his coaching staff.
Anelka’s foul-mouthed outburst at coach Raymond Domenech sparked a chaotic chain of events, with the striker being kicked out of the team after his bust-up at half-time of France’s defeat to Mexico was revealed in a French newspaper.
The forward, who plays for English Premier League champions Chelsea, arrived back in London early Monday, after his teammates had refused to take part in a session on Sunday.
France, the 1998 World Cup winners and 2006 runners-up, are supposed to be preparing to face host nation South Africa on Tuesday in their final group Group A game with qualification on the line.
If Mexico and Uruguay draw their match the same day, France are out of the tournament regardless of the result against South Africa.
Evra refused to blame Anelka on Saturday, saying the real problem in the squad was a “traitor” who had leaked the incident to the media.
Domenech, an eccentric man who has admitted he consults astrological charts, said he believed he had taken care of Anelka’s outburst before it found its way into the press. “He did not react in the most suitable fashion, but it was just a guy sitting in his corner and muttering — that would not have mattered had it stayed there,” he told TF1 television. “What was important was that it made the front page of a newspaper, and that exposes the internal life of the squad. I sorted out the problem internally, and as far as I was concerned it was done and dusted,” he said.
French newspapers blasted the team and said the behaviour was unacceptable. — AFP
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