World Cup 2010 (South Africa)

[rajputwarrior]

France players refuse to train in protest at WCup

By JEROME PUGMIRE, AP Sports Writer

France Football Federation President Jean Pierre Escalettes, left, and France captain Patrice Evra announce that France striker Nicolas Anelka was thrown off the team. Players refused to train on Sunday. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

KNYSNA, South Africa (AP)?France?s World Cup team refused to train Sunday in protest against Nicolas Anelka?s expulsion from the squad.

Anelka was kicked off the team for a profanity-laced tirade against coach Raymond Domenech, whose tactics and management skills have been called into question.

After the team refused to train Sunday, Domenech read a statement written by the players explaining their protest.

?The French Football Federation did not at any time try to protect the group. They took a decision uniquely based on facts reported by the press,? Domenech read from the statement. ?As a consequence and to show our opposition to the decision taken by officials of the federation, all the players decided not to take part in today?s training session.?

?It?s a scandal for the French, for the young people here. It?s a scandal for the federation and the French team,? Valentin said. ?They don?t want to train. It?s unacceptable.

?As for me, it?s over. I?m leaving the federation. I?m sickened and disgusted,? said Valentin, who walked away from the training field, got into a car and drove off.

The rift now appears irreparable between the players and the FFF, which sought to distance itself from its own team.

?The FFF, on behalf of its president, offers its apologies for the unacceptable behavior of the players representing our country,? the federation said in a statement.

The team arrived at training as usual Sunday and got off the bus to greet fans, but Domenech and France captain Patrice Evra stayed on the bus longer to talk.

When Domenech and Evra finally disembarked, fitness coach Robert Duverne was on the field putting down training cones. Evra then got into an argument with Duverne and Domenech walked over to intervene. Duverne then stormed off, throwing his accreditation badge to the ground.

Evra then handed a letter to the press officer, and the players, en masse, boarded the team bus and drew the curtains. The bus left the area shortly after Domenech?s speech, by which time most of the 200 fans were already walking away.

?Out of respect for the people who came to watch the training session, we decided to go to meet these supporters,? Domenech said, reading the statement. ?Each of us will do all he can, of course, but also in a collective sense, to ensure that the French team gets its honor back on Tuesday night with a good performance at last.?

Domenech looked detached and composed amid the chaotic scenes, and after his speech said ?Goodbye,? turned around and walked away without stopping to answer any questions.

In their first two matches at the World Cup, France drew 0-0 with Uruguay and then lost 2-0 to Mexico. France can still advance to the round of 16 with a win over host South Africa, as long as Uruguay and Mexico don?t draw in the other Group A match.

Christian Teinturier, vice president of the FFF, was stunned by what happened. He had objected to Domenech carrying on as coach of France after the European Championship two years ago, when France went out at the group stage.

?I confess that I understand nothing,? he said. ?We?re in another world here. French football is in a catastrophic situation.?

all that ****ing retard coaches fault

[.Kompressor]

^

but he didn't deserve the language....it's insubordination....because you are a club star doesn't mean you can do as you like....he didn't want to apologize either...so send him packing.....that's not something France's kids should look up too.

Remember Zidane. another brilliant French player who lost his cool. lol

I don't think France could have another incident like that again in the Final too.

[qdave]

French should play instead of protesting.

[Singh400]

Just lol @ France. Grow the **** up, and deal with your ****. Like everyone is does.

[DrCheese]

The French make it nice to know that for all of England's troubles so far, it could be worse :p

[.Kompressor]

the funny thing is the Italian player Matterazi has been head butted by several players not just Zidane. just youtube him and headbut lol

[rajputwarrior]

but he didn't deserve the language....it's insubordination....because you are a club star doesn't mean you can do as you like....he didn't want to apologize either...so send him packing.....that's not something France's kids should look up too.

why cause the coach doesn't play who he should, or doesn't know how to set up his squad, or mkae a roster that makes sense and discriminates against players who play outside of france so the players should just lay down and take it? (Y)

all of france's troubles are on him, 2006 was a freak incident that shouldn't have happened. all it did was make that retard look good.

[Kralik]

This just started to go down hill fast..

There have also been rumours of discontent between several members of the squad with skipper Patrice Evra accusing a 'traitor' of leaking out news of Anelka's outburst to the French media.

...

The team arrived at training on Sunday, but the session was halted after a row between captain Patrice Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne.

Domenech had to move in to separate the pair and soon after the incident the players then left the pitch and boarded the team bus.

...

The squad have released a letter revealing that they refused to train because of Anelka's expulsion from the team.

It said: "With this statement, all the players in the France squad without exception want to declare their opposition to the decision taken by the French Football Federation to exclude Nicolas Anelka from the squad.

"If we regret the incident which occurred at half-time of the match between France and Mexico, we regret even more the leak of an event which should have remained within the group and which is quite common in a high-level team.

"At the request of the squad, the player in question attempted to have dialogue but his approach was ignored.

"For its part, the French Football Federation has at no time tried to protect the squad.

"It has made a decision (to send Anelka home) without consulting all the players, on the basis of the facts reported by the press.

"Accordingly, and to mark the opposition to those at the highest level of French football, all the players decided not to train today.

"Out of respect for the public who came to attend training, we decided to go to meet the fans who, by their presence, showed their full support.

"For our part, we are aware of our responsibilities as those wearing the colours of our country. Also for those we have towards our fans and countless children who keep Les Bleus as role models.

"We forget none of our duties.

"We will do everything individually and also in a collective spirit to ensure that France regains its honour with a positive performance on Tuesday."

[mail]

[.Kompressor]

^ LMFAO! nice drop and roll...

[Jase]

Yeah France is done. Sad really. I guess they'll be back in 4 years.

They where my #1 choice to win the world cup, Now I don't know what team to choose.. Anything can happen on the field.

[rajputwarrior]

this is why i have no beef with people who hate football...

[Dogward]

France team is really ****ed up and that's kind "great"... I mean the team has been messing up since 2008 and serious sh*t has been growing up inside...

Nobody supports the team anymore. Every day something new comes up, it's just like watching a soap opera... so messed up it tickles !!!

As far as I'm concerned, I'm all for my second nation, Mexico !

[t_r_nelson]

Not being a football fan, what happens in Group C if the US beats Algeria and England beat Slovenia? That's 3 teams with 1 win and 2 draws. How do they determine who moves on?

[HighwayGlider]

I don't know if its spam/ads (if yes, send me a PM, I'll edit the comment). There's a nice little app app that Ive been using since the last world cup and the last euro and I'd like to share. If you want to get the schedules offline or updated score, try this link:

http://www.e-link.it/

Edit:

Anyone knows the exact comments that Anelka told the coach? Even in in French it doesn;t matter.

[t_r_nelson]

Nevermind. Found the answer:

GROUP C

USA advances with:

(a) Win versus Algeria on Wednesday

(b) Tie and Slovenia-England tie IF England does not outscore USA by 2+ goals

© Tie and England loss

Slovenia advances with:

(a) Win or tie versus England

(b) Loss AND USA tie vs Algeria

© Loss and Algeria win as long as Algeria doesn't make up tiebreakers*

England advances with:

(a) Win versus Slovenia

(b) Tie AND USA-Algeria tie AND outscore USA by 3 goals

Algeria advances with:

(a) Win versus USA AND Slovenia win/tie versus England

(b) Win versus USA AND Slovenia loss versus England AND makes up tiebreakers on Slovenia

Note: If the U.S. draws with Algeria and England draws with Slovenia, and England scores exactly two more goals than the U.S., the U.S. and England would be even on all tiebreakers for second place. The tie would be broken by drawing lots ... aka, a coin flip.

I can't believe they would rely on a drawing if US and England end up even. Doubtful scenario, but not fair at all.

[Jimmy0]

It seems quite a few games in this world cup have had very bad refereeing, they better not have this once we move onto the knockout stage!

[Rappy Veteran]

uh oh Capello sounded ****ed in that ITV interview!

[Rappy Veteran]

Sulley Muntari ordered to leave the Ghana camp

The Inter Milan player's World Cup has gone from bad to worse having lost his regular place in Ghana team before the tournament had even begun.

The problems began three weeks ago when Muntari asked for a separate room during Ghana's friendly against Holland, which went against Ghana's team policy. He then tried to seek medical attention without consulting the Ghana medical team when they arrived in London for World Cup warm-up match.

Things came to a head after the 1-1 draw with Australia on Saturday when Muntari made it clear to Rajevac he felt he should have played a more significant role in the match.

The Inter Milan player went on a foul-mouthed rant, banging the lockers and casting aspersions on the technical team and his team-mates.

Rajevac felt insulted by the player's protest and on Sunday asked team manager Opoku Afriyie to make the necessary arrangement to ensure Muntari's hasty his departure from the camp.

The President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwasi Nyantekyie, and team captain Stephen Appiah have tried to reason with Rajevac but the Serb has made it clear he cannot work with the player. He even refused to shake Muntari's hand when getting on to the team bus en route to training on Sunday morning.

Muntari stayed at the Sun City hotel base of the Ghana team last night and it is not yet clear whether he will play any further part in the tournament.

Rajevac and Muntari have never seen eye to eye and being together in close confines for the last month has only worsened the relationship

Rajevic did not include the former Portsmouth star in Ghana's African Nations Cup squad earlier this year after Muntari twice refused to meet during the coach's visits to Milan. After making an official apology he was allowed back into the squad and scored on his return against Bosnia in a friendly.

[Singh400]

FIFA Studies Referee's Call in Slovenia-U.S. Match

The fate of Malian referee Koman Coulibaly, who disallowed Team U.S.A.'s apparent third goal in Friday night's match against Slovenia, now rests in the hands of top FIFA officials.

Mr. Coulibaly's performance is undergoing a standard review that all referees are subject to immediately after each match. FIFA rules require referees to submit their own reports on matches, and then that report as well as taped footage of the match is subject to inspection. According to FIFA rules, the report must address all major incidents that occurred during the match as well as explanations for any cautions or ejections the referee doled out during the game. The game was Mr. Coulibaly's first as a head referee in the World Cup.

Click here to read the full article.

...

Embattled ref to miss upcoming matches

Controversial referee Koman Coulibaly was left off FIFA?s list for the next batch of World Cup matches following the error that likely cost the United States a victory against Slovenia.

Yahoo! Sports revealed on Friday that Coulibaly was ?highly unlikely? to take any further part in the tournament after being given a poor evaluation by assessors following his decision to disallow Maurice Edu?s 85th-minute goal. FIFA confirmed Sunday that Coulibaly will not play any part in Tuesday or Wednesday?s matches, which will include the USA?s critical Group C finale against Algeria.

Click here to read the full article.

[rajputwarrior]

...

good. dumb ass ref cost the states the game, that was clearly a goal.

uh oh Capello sounded ****ed in that ITV interview!

do you blame him? the team has been embarrassing at best so far.

[Rappy Veteran]

good. dumb ass ref cost the states the game, that was clearly a goal.

do you blame him? the team has been embarrassing at best so far.

yeah he was mainly ****ed at Terry though :p expect him to be sent home....probably not.

[rajputwarrior]

yeah he was mainly ****ed at Terry though :p expect him to be sent home....probably not.

they should bench rooney the next game, bring him off the bench ****ed off and ready to go because that gone as been as useful as casper the friend ghost out there.

[rajputwarrior]

i hate the italians...

[Kralik]

i hate the italians...

+1...