France's players listen to their captain
Patrice Evra |
The troubled French national
football team sunk deeper into disarray on Sunday when it broke off an afternoon
training session after a heated altercation between captain Patrice Evra and
Robert Duverne, the fitness coach.
France head coach Raymond Domenech
had to separate the two men to prevent their dispute from escalating, after
which Duverne threw his stopwatch to the ground and stormed off.
The
players later released a statement read out by Domenech that they had refused to
train in protest at the decision to expel striker Nicolas Anelka from the
team.
Anelka launched a tirade of insults against Domenech in a
dressing-room row during France's 2-0 loss to Mexico on
Thursday.
France team director Jean-Louis Valentin announced his
resignation after the training boycott.
"Quite honestly, I'm leaving
South Africa and flying home to Paris," he told journalists at France's World
Cup base in Knysna, South Africa.
"I'm outraged and disgusted. I'm
quitting my job here. What is happening here is a scandal for the (French
football) federation, for the French team and for the entire
country.
"They don't want to train. That's
unacceptable."
Earlier Sunday, French midfielder Franck Ribery said he
was "in tears" when Anelka left the team Sunday afternoon and that the hunt was
on for the "traitor" who had leaked details of the player's outburst against the
coach to the media.
On Saturday, the French football federation FFF
announced it was expelling Anelka after the Chelsea forward had refused to
apologize for insulting Domenech.
Officials and the French public
expressed outrage over Anelka's obscene remarks, which were splashed on the
front page of the respected sports paper L'Equipe.
"A traitor blabbed
a few things. We won't be relieved until we know who it was," a visibly moved
Ribery told French television on Sunday, his first interview since the start of
the World Cup.
"Now of all times, when we still have an important
match against South Africa, everyone is bashing us," the Bayern Munich star
said, adding that all of the squad's players had wanted Anelka to
stay.
"He's very upset because he loves the national team," Ribery
remarked.
Ribery said Anelka had not used curses involving Domenech's
mother that were attributed to him by L'Equipe, and that friction existed in all
teams.
Earlier, Anelka told the newspaper France Soir that he had not
used the exact words that had been reported, although he admitted to having "a
lively discussion" with Domenech.
"I've also been irritated by the
coach. But what happens in the dressing room must remain in the dressing room,"
Ribery said.
L'Equipe said Anelka swore at Domenech after the coach
had firmly but politely asked him to stay in his position in the game on
Thursday.
Domenech then reportedly told Anelka in the confrontation in
front of the whole team that he would be taken out of the game. Anelka was
replaced by Andre-Pierre Gignac for the second half.
Evra also accused
"a traitor" in the squad of leaking details of Anelka's outburst to the
media.
Ribery said the mood of the French team was negatively affected
both by media criticism and the players' poor performances on the
pitch.
"We haven't played as a team," he said as he asked "all French
people" for forgiveness.
France have had a poor World Cup and are in
danger of going out in the group stage, as they did at Euro 2008, after being
held 0-0 by Uruguay and then losing to Mexico 2-0.
"This is
unacceptable", thundered French President Nicolas Sarkozy after Anelka's
outburst made global headlines.
Anelka is not the only issue Domenech
is having to deal with.
Arsenal defender William Gallas, for instance,
stuck his middle finger out at a TV reporter after the Mexico game and is
staging a media boycott. Meanwhile, playmaker Yoann Gourcuff is being snubbed
by many players and was taken out of the starting 11 of the Mexico game, even
though the coach had wanted to field him.
France's national soccer team players leave by
bus |
موضوع: اخبار كورة 
