Friday, July 2, 2010

Thuram urges France to ban Evra

Lilian Thuram is surrounded by reporters
Thuram made 142 appearances for France in his career

French World Cup winner Liliam Thuram has said current captain Patrice Evra must never play for France again.

Defender Evra played an integral role in a players' revolt following Nicolas Anelka's expulsion from the World Cup for insulting coach Raymond Domenech.

The full-back was then stripped of the captain's armband and was dropped for France's 2-1 defeat by South Africa.

"I demanded that the players be harshly punished and that Evra never returns to the France squad," said Thuram.

France's disastrous World Cup campaign descended into farce after Anelka was sent home and the team refused to train in protest, prompting French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes to resign.

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Evra was complicit in the protest and was involved in a row with fitness coach Robert Duverne, a stand-off that was filmed by stunned French media gathered at the team's training base in Knysna.

It was left to Domenech to read a team statement to the gathered media while the players returned to the team bus.

Manchester United defender Evra was subsequently dropped from France's final match against the hosts, but Thuram believes his exclusion should be permanent.

Speaking at the FFF's general council on Friday, World Cup 1998 winner and Euro 2000 winner Thuram said: "When you are captain of the France team, you must have a responsibility to the jersey and the people.

"When the players shut themselves in the bus, and the fact that it was the coach who read the statement, that showed that the coach was no longer respected.

"In any group there are leaders and people who follow, and others who do not agree and do not dare say no."

France officially confirmed Laurent Blanc as Domenech's successor on Friday.

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