Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

EURO 2012

Nasri handed three match ban for Euro 2012 antics

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri has been given a three match ban from the French national team as a result of his conduct during Euro 2012, with three other players also punished.

Published: 27 July 2012 17:54 CEST

Nasri handed three match ban for Euro 2012 antics

Photo: Wikimedia

Nasri was punished for shouting "Shut your mouth" to television cameras following his goal in the 1-1 group-stage draw with England in a tirade he later said was aimed at a journalist who wrote a critical article.

He then directed a string of foul-mouthed insults at an AFP journalist after the quarter-final defeat to Spain in Donetsk.

Jeremy Menez, of Paris Saint-Germain, was given a one-match international ban following a spat with captain Hugo Lloris in the game against Spain and for insulting the referee after the same match.

Nasri, Mvila and Ben Arfa appeared personally before the FFF disciplinary commission, but refused to comment after their hearing.

Lawyer Carlo Alberto Brusa, representing Menez, who is currently on tour in the United States with PSG, described the outcome as "fair" and said he would be advising his client not to appeal.

In addition, Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa and Yann M'Vila, of Rennes, were both issued with warnings.

Ben Arfa — whose father and agent came to blows outside the FFF headquarters on Friday morning — had been called before the disciplinary committee to explain an altercation with then-coach Laurent Blanc in the changing rooms after the 2-0 defeat to Sweden.

M'Vila had been asked to explain his refusal to shake substitute Olivier Giroud and Blanc's hands when he was replaced against Spain.

A statement released by the disciplinary committee of the FFF added that all or part of the players' bonuses would be withheld.

The case came two years after France players went on strike during the World Cup in South Africa that led to the suspension of four players, including Nicolas Anelka for a record 18 games, Patrice Evra for five games and Franck Ribery for three.

The players have ten days to appeal the decision.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Spain coach scratches head over striker solution

Spain managed to win Euro 2012 despite playing Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas (second from bottom right) as the team's main attacker. Photo: Christof Stache/AFP

Spain's Euro 2012 triumph in Poland and Ukraine was achieved with Cesc Fabregas playing an auxiliary role as the attacker furthest up the field but he remains much more of a natural midfielder despite his re-incarnation as a "false nine" at international level.

For the Confederations Cup, manager Vicente del Bosque has four clear options whether he decides to go with a "false nine" or indeed a more traditional centre-forward.

Alongside Fabregas, he has selected the experience of David Villa and Fernando Torres, whilst Roberto Soldado's late season form saw him edge out Alvaro Negredo, who had been selected ahead of the Valencia man for the World Cup qualifying double-header back in March.

Del Bosque's loyalty to Torres and Villa is understandable as they have tended to be been the focal point of Spain's success over the last five years.

Villa was the competition's top-scorer at both the European Championships in 2008 and World Cup in 2010, whilst in Villa's absence through injury, Torres scored the winner in the Euro 2008 final and remarkably finished joint top-scorer in last year's Euros, despite only starting twice and scoring three times.

However, neither have enjoyed the best of fortunes at club level over the past couple of years.

Villa has struggled to regain his place in the Barcelona side after breaking his tibia in December 2011 and with Neymar joining the Spanish champions, he seems almost certain to be on his way out of the Catalan capital in the coming months.

Meanwhile, although Torres has regained some semblance of form as his 22 goals helped Chelsea win the Europa League, those goals came from 64 appearances and only eight came in the Premier League.

Without doubt the man most in form is Soldado. The Valencia captain scored 30 goals in all competitions this season and 10 in the last eight games of the campaign as he tried to almost single-handedly drag them back into the Champions League.

However, Del Bosque has been reticent to use Soldado in the past.

The 28-year-old was left out of the Euro 2012 squad, despite scoring a hat-trick against Venezuela in a warm-up friendly and has not featured in any of Spain's World Cup qualifiers since scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win away to Georgia to begin their campaign.

Soldado's problem seems to be that Del Bosque does not believe he has the all-round game to combine with Spain's multitude of creative midfielders.

"We can play with a genuine number nine or a different kind of player but we need players who can contribute to the team play and be effective throughout the match and not only to score a goal" the 62-year-old said last week.

That would suggest Fabregas remains the favourite to start amongst the frontline, however with opponents now more than happy to gift Spain possession, confident there will be little threat in behind, that is likely to prove problematic against better opposition.

Eventually, it seems Del Bosque will have to turn to a real number nine but his likelihood to choose loyalty in Villa and Torres over the form of Soldado is another chink of light for those hoping to knock Spain off their perch.

Url copied to clipboard!