Ex-Arsenal star Nasri clashes with Ben Arfa

Dressing room bust-up revives France's World Cup demons

By
  • AFP
Published

Swedish defender Olof Mellberg (left) vies with French midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa during the Euro 2012 match on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. (AFP)

Hatem Ben Arfa was so angry at being substituted in France's 2-0 defeat by Sweden in their final Euro 2012 Group D match that he told coach Laurent Blanc he could send him home if he wished, L'Equipe said on Thursday.

The attacking midfielder, who earned a recall for the tournament after a stunning season for English Premier League side Newcastle, believed he was unfairly singled out in the match against a team that could not qualify, the sports newspaper said.

The daily added that the 25-year-old angered Blanc by talking on the phone when the team returned to the changing rooms after the match for a debriefing.

"Hatem you don't need to be ringing your family in here!" Blanc reportedly told the player.

Ben Arfa, who has had problems in the past with other coaches such as Didier Deschamps at Marseille, prompting his move to Newcastle, replied that he should not have been taken off as there were several other players "who were worse" than him.

That prompted an angry intervention by Samir Nasri, the newspaper said, adding that Ben Arfa ended with him telling Blanc that he could send him home if he wanted to.

Nasri, who himself courted controversy by celebrating his goal in the 1-1 draw with England by shouting "shut your face!" at a L'Equipe journalist whose criticism he believed had upset his sick mother, also had words with Alou Diarra.

Nasri took exception to Diarra's remark aimed at several players that their performances had been so bad that it was "not normal".

Florent Malouda, who came on as a substitute, said the situation remined him of the 2010 World Cup where Nicolas Anelka was sent home in disgrace for a foul-mouthed rant at coach Raymond Domenech, prompting a players' strike at a training session.

"What I saw awakened some demons in me," said the veteran Malouda.

France qualified second behind England in the group and go on to play Spain in the quarter-final in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Thursday.

MUST READ:

Wenger says Van Persie will stay at Arsenal

 

 

Liverpool honeymoon over for Skrtel

 

 

Arsenal to beat Chelsea for Newcastle star

  • Twitter
  • submit to reddit

Comments

  • Akinshola Olushola 22 June 2012 10:05 0 1
    If wenger can buy 6quality player i think things can going well.

Have your say

Comments submitted by third parties on this site are the sole responsibility of the individual/s whose content is submitted. DMI accepts no responsibility for the content of comment/s, including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Please note that your email address will NOT appear on the site.

By submitting your comments you agree to this website's Terms & Conditions

Type in the characters you see in the picture below.

  Team P W D L GD PTS
1 = Man Utd 38 28 5 5 43 89
2 = Man City 38 23 9 6 32 78
3 = Chelsea 38 22 9 7 36 75
4 = Arsenal 38 21 10 7 35 73
5 = Tottenham 38 21 9 8 20 72
6 = Everton 38 16 15 7 15 63
7 = Liverpool 38 16 13 9 28 61
8 = West Brom 38 14 7 17 -4 49
9 = Swansea 38 11 13 14 -4 46
10 = West Ham 38 12 10 16 -8 46
11 = Norwich 38 10 14 14 -17 44
12 = Fulham 38 11 10 17 -10 43
13 = Stoke 38 9 15 14 -11 42
14 = Southampton 38 9 14 15 -11 41
15 = Aston Villa 38 10 11 17 -22 41
16 = Newcastle 38 11 8 19 -23 41
17 = Sunderland 38 9 12 17 -13 39
18 = Wigan 38 9 9 20 -26 36
19 = Reading 38 6 10 22 -30 28
20 = QPR 38 4 13 21 -30 25

Videos

See more videos

News In Images

See more galleries

Most Popular on Emirates 24|7

Latest jobs available

More jobs on Emirates 24|7

Related articles

Back to top