Anelka handed 18-match France ban

Striker suspended as French federation take action over player revolt at the World Cup.

France''s captain Patrice Evra
France boycotted a training session in South Africa in June in support of Anelka [AFP]

New chapter

“The players now realise that they should never have done such a thing,” Jean-Louis Valentin, the former France team director, who testified during the hearings, told reporters as he left the FFF building in the centre of the French capital.

“We have to acknowledge that and they deserve another chance … let’s close this chapter and start another one.”

No other official or player talked to the media after the hearings, during which Domenech and Jean-Pierre Escalettes, the outgoing FFF president, also spoke.

Ribery did not appear at the hearing as his club Bayern Munich had refused to release him, while striker Anelka was nowhere to be seen.

Les Bleus boycotted a training session in South Africa in June in support of Anelka, who was banished from the squad for insulting Domenech.

Two days later, they suffered a shock first-round exit from the tournament with a 2-1 defeat by hosts South Africa.

Laurent Blanc, who succeeded Domenech as coach after the World Cup, refused to pick any of the 23 players involved in the boycott for his first game in charge, a 2-1 defeat in Norway earlier this month.

France start their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a home game against Belarus on September 3.

Source: News Agencies