[size=18pt]World Cup 2010: France in crisis as team refuse to train following Raymond Domenech bust-up with fitness coach[/size]

It has been revealed that the France national team amazingly refused to train on Sunday following a dispute on the training pitch.

France team-director Jean-Louis Valentin has also resigned from his role with the French Football Federation, telling the press that he was "ashamed" of the team.

The French squad arrived at training on Sunday morning and took to the field, but within a few minutes, fitness coach Robert Duverne stormed away from an argument with coach Raymond Domenech.

Duverne then threw his accreditation badge to the ground after the heated row and walked away before the squad players decided to bring the training session to a premature end and board the team bus.

France are already in disarray after Nicolas Anelka was sent home following an argument with Domenech at half-time of their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Mexico.

It was reported that Anelka swore at his manager after he was criticised for straying out of position. The Chelsea striker was sent home on Saturday and has reportedly refused to play for his country again.

The French players have since released a statement about the decision to send the striker home which reads: "All players without exception want to declare opposition to the decision to exclude [Nicolas] Anelka."

France must beat South Africa on Tuesday to stand any chance of qualifying from Group A whilst also hoping that Uruguay and Mexico do not draw their game if they are to progress.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890/world-cup-2010/2010/06/20/1986190/world-cup-2010-france-in-crisis-as-team-refuse-to-train

I think say na only Africa dis kain thin dey happen.

Lol, Junkies

They know they are already out, they are just looking for an excuse to make it look as if it was because they didn't train, thats why they'll lose the last match which is even irrelevant because Mexico and Uruguay's game will end in a draw come Monday.

hehehehehe. . . . . industrial action. . . . the FFF chairman must resign for backing Domenech against all odds. . .

The FFF should have sacked their coach a long time ago now see the mess he has got them into; i pray the Mexico and Uruguay guys use sense and just play draw.

Uruguay and Mexico are not going to play draw. None of them would want ot meet Argentina.

South Africa for second round by God's grace.

They are showing it on ESPN right now how the French team "Aluta" was going on

[flash=200,200]http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/=aODrSmKUCUE&feature=player_embedded[/flash]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aODrSmKUCUE&feature=player_embedded

The Irish must be laughing their heads off.

The problems and friction in the French team are down to a split over one man: Yoann Gourcuff.

Gourcuff comes from a privileged family. He is smart and he is respectful - but he is also still a shy little boy. In his spare time he listens to music, watches films and plays his video game systems. He is, in his own words, a little nerdy.

In a French squad that places more value on how much money you have in your bank account, and what girl is on your arm, Gourcuff doesn't fit.

One incident occurred shortly before the World Cup. Franck Ribery and Sidney Govou had organised a night out at well known gentleman's club in Paris. Several players, including Gourcuff decided to stay home. When Ribery heard about this he immediately confronted Gourcuff and asked 'does your mother not allow you to go, you homosexual slur'

This is one of many incidents.

Ribery is the main instigator in the bullying, however he is far from alone. On the pitch, Gourcuff plays within himself. Scared because he fears the verbal retribution he will receive after the match from his tormentors.

In the squad, Gourcuff can count on only 3 real allies. His best friend Hugo Lloris, his teammate Jeremy Toulalan and elder statesmen Thierry Henry

When Raymond Domonech bowed to player pressure and dropped Gourcuff for France's second group match, that was the catalyst for the situation in which we now find ourselves.

Evra is far from an allie to Gourcuff, he was one of the people that went to Domenech and demanded him to be dropped in favour of Malouda

Gosh, why is Domenech being pushed about by different players?

The best thing he should do is to just bench all the players, or betterstill lose the last match and then resign, let a new coach takes over, dissolve the whole team and then pick new ones, that's the only option they have just like Nigeria too.

I heard Riberry is the bully. Must have picked up this tout-like behaviour from his time at FC Hollywood a.k.a Bayern Munich

Iman

dayo dey come 4 t now . . .

Have u guys forgotten that Domenech is retarded ? There are 3 factions in the team -Gallas, Evra and Henry's . . .nawao !

Domenech's face alone spells failure.

dayokanu:

One incident occurred shortly before the World Cup. Franck Ribery and Sidney Govou had organised a night out at well known gentleman's club in Paris. Several players, including Gourcuff decided to stay home. When Ribery heard about this he immediately confronted Gourcuff and asked 'does your mother not allow you to go, you homosexual slur'

This is one of many incidents.

Gourcuff should have told the phantom of the Opera (Ribery) that he is not into paedophilia, hence his decision not to go looking for chicks at the gentlemen's club.


BTW, Ribery should never play for France again. He's running mafia, yet he's playing rubbish on the pitch. He's a phucking disgrace!!!

^^ Shut your stinking mouth,

WHy would Gourcouff reject the offer to Bleep Ashawo?

Is he a Vatican republic player? You see why Brazil are succesful? They all go on romps before and after matches

Did you know why we are succesful in Tunisia 94? Our players were breaking out of comp to get laid regularly.

Even I read a thread on NL where someone said the Argntine players do it regularly,

George Best, Garruncha and co cant step on the field if they dont get "some"



Gourcouff na Bleep up jor and according to Ribery maybe homosexual sef

Gourcuff's father is a well respected manager. He cant afford to be getting into scandal like this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1267805/Franck-Riberys-underage-prostitute-Zahia-Dehar-breaks-silence.html


Looking at Ribery's wife, it is no surprise he is always in a hurry to get his Tiger Woods on. . .

the french camp is like a circus right now, of particular disappointment has been the conduct of patrice evra. i just hope this plays out in SA's favour

A mess on every level. And, they have issues of bullying amongst the players? Pathetic.

@Dayokanu
what is happening has absolutely NOTHING to do with Gourcuff because if it was then he wouldnt walk out of the field with the other players. . . . . . the problem is very simple:

Anelka and Domenech had a bust up during the halftime, Anelka insulted Domenech (supposedly go fukc yourself, u son of a biatch) in the dressing room where there was only the players and the staff.
the next day the biggest daily sport newspaper of France posted the words on their frontpage, and subsequently, sanctions were taken against Anelka by the FFF.

the reason why ALL the players decided to walk off and boycott training today was because:
1) [/b]there is a rat in the team/staff and they want to know who it is that is feeding the newspapers with personal stuff like that. bust happen all the time in dressing rooms as players are pumped up(doesnt excuse the lack of respect) but these are stuff that stays within the dressing room.
[b]2) the FFF took actions against Anelka without checking the validity of what happen  with the players/coach but rather by what they read on the newspapers. Evra is adamant that what was written in the newspapers is not what Anelka said but something in the same frame of mind.nevertheless they should have investigated further rather than just sending him away because of his negative history with the FFF.
BTW, all the players stand by what Anelka did, they didnt say he was right or that they would have done the same thing BUT THAT THEY UNDERSTAND.

France is an ageing team

Curse of the Irish. . .
Nobody f's with us.

curse of the irish, for sure!

here is also something to take in consideration about this Anelka mess:
Domenech is putting Anelka as a lone striker while Anelka has been repeatedly asking him to pair him up front with another striker so that he can be comfortable doing what he does best (just like at Chelsea).when the WC started, Domenech continued placing him as a lone striker, and telling him to stay up, which we know for a fact, DOESNT WORK.

after the Uruguay match, Zidane called Evra, Henry, Gallas and Ribery telling them that they should tell Domenech to put a second striker alongside Anelka and 2 wide midfield. they all went and had a meeting with Domenech and he agreed and they started training on that formation. all was well until the morning of the Mexico match when Domenech learned that it was Zidane who instigated the whole change of formation, and not really the group of players he had met. he blew a gasket and told them that it would be back to the same formation as before only to change Gourcuff for Malouda.   

during halftime of the Mexico game, the bust up happened because Domenech was mad at Anelka falling back while Anelka told him that he couldnt help it as that was the only way he could properly play and that he had told him that he wasnt comfortable otherwise. . . . . . . ,  an argument started and Anelka insulted Domenech.
after the insult, Anelka tried to make it up and talk to Domenech but he supposedly wouldnt listen.

the Saga continue as there are already 2 people in the French staff who quit. . . . . . . .  the FFF delegate and the fitness coach !

the only problem is that these "insane" players seem to be focussed on the rat etc rather than on the coming GAME.
someone in France suggested to forfeit the game and to go back home as they are all loosing their damn mind, Domenech included!

Na wa o. What is happening? No Zizau no France.

Oh la la. . . Scandal. I just luv this french team.

honeric01:

Lol, Junkies

They know they are already out, they are just looking for an excuse to make it look as if it was because they didn't train, thats why they'll lose the last match which is even irrelevant because Mexico and Uruguay's game will end in a draw come Monday.

All this just makes things more and more difficult for the next coach.
Blanc comes in and being an inexperienced coach will think the easiest way to deal with the mafia is to use force. . . this will lead to a reaction from them and it gets bigger.

The behaviour of these rags to riches French players is irritating. . . remember they almost destroyed Arsenal too.

Anyone else think that this infighting may actually give South Africa a shot at winning big? It looks like France are practically throwing the game.

Sagamite:

The Irish must be laughing their heads off.

this irish talk is beginning to get boring.
if the irish were good enough they would have beaten this silly french side irrespective of Titi's hand ball or not.
Stuff happen in football and the irish would be naive to be laughing their heads of.

my respect for Patrice has diminshed for leading this senseless and idiotic mutiny.
What the heck do they mean that they are against the expulsion of Aneka?
How can you insult your boss (or team leader) (or even your teammate) in that manner?
I have said it repeatedly, football has been ruined by excessive commercialism.there is more money in the game than sense.
real fans have been marginalised from the game and mercenaries have taken over.
If Blanc has any sense, he should ask Anelka to stay a minimum of 100km away from any French squad in the coming months.
At the end of the day, the french fans will suffer while these over paid prima donnas chill out in exotic holiday locations before resuming at various leagues to collect their millions.
Shame on you Patrice et al.

Raymond Domenech suffered the ultimate humiliation at the hands of his players as strikes, rows, resignations and recriminations left the French in disarray on one of the darkest days in the country's football history.

Domenech's impotence was laid bare in extraordinary fashion after his players refused to train at their scheduled afternoon session, in protest at the French Football Federation's decision to send home Nicolas Anelka. The Chelsea striker argued with Domenech in the dressing room at half-time in last Thursday's Group A defeat by Mexico, reportedly saying to him: "Go Bleep yourself, you son of a LovePeddler." After he refused to apologise to Domenech, the FFF expelled him from the squad.

In front of hundreds of fans at what was an open session in Knysna, France's players began by signing autographs. But once on the pitch, the captain, Patrice Evra, had a row with Robert Duverne, the fitness coach, which resulted in the latter storming off and the players withdrawing to the team bus and pulling shut the curtains. Domenech had to separate Evra and Duverne.

• The latest team-by-team news, features and moreEvra, who had earlier stayed on the bus to talk to Domenech, was seen with a letter, which turned out to be a statement from the players. Incredibly, it fell to Domenech to read it out. The coach seemed to be caught between a rock and a hard place and the scene was described by some commentators as the most unbelievable in the history of Les Bleus.

"All the players without exception want to declare their opposition to the decision taken by the FFF to exclude Nicolas Anelka from the squad," Domenech read. "At the request of the squad, the player in question attempted to have dialogue but his approach was ignored. The FFF 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."

The France team director, Jean-Louis Valentin, resigned. "It's a scandal for the French, for the young people here, for the federation and the French team," he 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."

The FFF hit back at the players in a statement that said their actions were "unacceptable". It read: "Contrary to what the players said, this sanction [of Anelka] was taken following a long conversation with the person in the presence of the captain. The FFF apologise to the country for the unacceptable conduct of the players that are representing our country. A federal council shall be convened immediately on the completion of the French team's campaign to draw all the conclusions of the crisis that has been created."

France intend to train tomorrow , most likely behind closed doors, ahead of Tuesday's game against South Africa, in which the players intend to "ensure that France regains its honour". It is unclear whether Domenech will give the team talk. After drawing with Uruguay and losing to Mexico, France need a handsome victory coupled with a favourable result in the Uruguay's match against Mexico if they are to advance to the last 16.

Evra had earlier railed against the "traitor" in the squad's midst, "who told the press what was said" at half-time against Mexico. Duverne denied he was to blame. "I talked to Raymond Domenech on behalf of the players [after the dressing-room row], including Patrice Evra," he said. "I have children and I don't want to be sullied by rumours that I am the traitor." Evra later said that Duverne was not to blame.

Of his argument with Evra, Duverne said: "Patrice Evra came to tell me that the players were not going to participate in training. I was angry because we play a big game in two days and we have no right to destroy our last chance. We are in a difficult situation but it is not impossible."

Domenech had said that he had "left open the possibility" for Anelka to apologise but the player was not prepared to do so. "The decision to exclude him, then, was the right one," Domenech said earlier in the day. "I am sorry for the children for whom the French team represents something. Anelka does not have the right to say such things."

There is widespread anger in France and the day's events not only highlighted the divisions between the FFF and Domenech and the players respectively but they brought to a head the tensions that have dogged the set-up in recent weeks. Domenech, who has been accused of bizarre decision-making, has alienated many players, including Thierry Henry, William Gallas, Florent Malouda and Anelka, and there are clashes between individual members of the squad. Domenech will leave his post after the World Cup, to be replaced by Laurent Blanc.