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WORLD CUP 2014

WORLD CUP

France World Cup squad named: Nasri left out

France coach Didier Deschamps on Tuesday left Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri out of a young 23-man squad for this year's World Cup in Brazil.

Published: 13 May 2014 21:28 CEST
France World Cup squad named: Nasri left out
Samir Nasri has been left out of Frances World Cup squad by coach Didier Deshcamps. Photo: AFP

Neither 26-year-old Nasri, who has won 41 caps, nor Monaco captain Eric Abidal, capped 67 times, feature in the squad or on the seven-man standby list.

"He is a player of great quality, but Samir's performances for France have not been of the standard of those with his club Manchester City," Deschamps said after revealing his squad live on French television channel TF1's evening news programme.

"He is an important player and a first-pick for Manchester City and that is not the case for France.

"And when he is a substitute he is not happy, and that is felt by the squad as a whole. That is why he is not on the list."

Nasri, who was also left out of Raymond Domenech's squad for the 2010 World Cup, last played for France in the 2-0 defeat to Ukraine in the first leg of last November's World Cup qualifying play-off.

Abidal also played in that game before losing his place, and Deschamps admitted that he preferred to take a younger player than the former Barcelona man, who is now 34.

There are eight players aged under 25 in the squad, including the Real Sociedad winger Antoine Griezmann, who made his international debut against the Netherlands in March.

Paris Saint-Germain left-back Lucas Digne, 20, was preferred to Gael Clichy of Manchester City while Newcastle United's Loic Remy, who played under Deschamps at Marseille, was selected among the forwards rather than Alexandre Lacazette, scorer of 15 goals in Ligue 1 this season with Lyon.

France have been drawn in Group E with Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras.

They will play friendlies against Norway at the Stade de France on May 27, against Paraguay in Nice on June 1 and against Jamaica at Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy on June 8 before flying to Brazil.

Their opening World Cup game will be against Honduras in Porto Alegre on June 15.

France squad for 2014 World Cup

Goalkeepers: Mickael Landreau (SC Bastia), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United/ENG), Lucas Digne (Paris Saint-Germain), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal/ENG), Eliaquim Mangala (FC Porto/POR), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal/ENG), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool/ENG), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP)

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Paris Saint-Germain), Clement Grenier (Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus/ITA), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United/ENG), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)

Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal/ENG), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad/ESP), Loic Remy (Newcastle United/ENG), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER)

Standby list: Remy Cabella (Montpellier), Maxime Gonalons, Alexandre Lacazette (both Lyon), Loic Perrin, Stephane Ruffier (both Saint-Etienne), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton/ENG), Benoit Tremoulinas (Saint-Etienne, on loan from Dynamo Kiev/UKR)

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SPORT

Norway’s football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott

Will Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland stay home or play on what fans have dubbed a "cemetery?" This Sunday, a meeting of Norway's football community will decide whether to boycott next year's World Cup in Qatar.

Published: 18 June 2021 11:27 CEST
Norway's football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott
Norway's forward Erling Haaland (L) and teammates wear jerseys reading "Fair play for migrant workers" before the international friendly football match between Norway and Greece at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga in preperation for the UEFA European Championships, on June 6, 2021. JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Under pressure from grassroots activists the Norwegian Football Federation(NFF) has decided to hold an extraordinary congress to decide on whether to pass up football’s showpiece event all together.

The games on the pitches in the Middle Eastern emirate will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery,” according to Ole Kristian Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), invoking a commonly used metaphor among opponents of Norway’s participation.

Norway, which has not qualified for a major international competition since Euro 2000, is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group behind Turkey, the Netherlands and Montenegro. 

So while qualification seems an uphill task, the result of the vote could have an impact on whether Norway and its young star Haaland — one of the rising stars of world football — continue to play qualifying matches. 

The movement calling for a boycott began north of the Arctic Circle when football club Tromso IL spoke out against turning a blind eye to alleged human rights abuses at the end of February.

“We can no longer sit and watch people die in the name of football,” the first division club proclaimed.

Qatar has faced criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, many of whom are involved in the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, with campaigners accusing employers of exploitation and forcing labourers to work in dangerous conditions.

Qatari authorities meanwhile insist they have done more than any country in the region to improve worker welfare.

“There is no doubt that this World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar,” Tom Hogli, a former professional footballer turned public relations officer for Tromso IL, told AFP.

“The conditions there are abominable and many have lost their lives,” he added.

In March, a spokesman for the Qatari organisers put the number of deaths on the construction sites at “three” since 2014, with another 35 having died away from their workplaces, challenging the heavy toll reported by some rights groups.

Push from fans
The Tromso call began gathering pace in Norway, where clubs operate under a democratic structure, and under pressure from fans, many teams now say “nei” (no).

According to Sandvik, the fans feel that the deaths on the World Cup sites would have been avoided “if they had not had to build hotels, railways and stadiums”.

Nearly half of Norwegians, 49 percent, now say they are in favour of a boycott, while only 29 percent are against it, according to a poll published by newspaper VG on Wednesday.

The Nordic country’s national squad has already protested conditions in Qatar, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

Before recent Norway games, Borussia Dortmund superstar Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and the rest of the team have worn t-shirts with slogans like “Human rights on and off the pitch.”

Other countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have also followed suit.

FIFA, on the other hand, argue that awarding the hosting of the World Cup in Qatar has opened the door to social progress.

“We know there is still work to be done, but we need to recognise the significant progress achieved in a very short time,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May.

‘Few successes’ 
While the executive committee of the NFF have said they regret Qatar being awarded the World Cup, they oppose a boycott.

President Terje Svendsen said he thought it was “not the right tool to improve the human rights situation or the working conditions in Qatar,” when speaking at the federation’s ordinary annual congress in March.

According to the NFF, a boycott could end up costing Norway 205 million Norwegian kroner ($24 million, 20 million euros) in fines and compensation as well as lost revenue.

Feeling the pressure from grassroots campaigns, the NFF referred the matter to an extraordinary congress which on Sunday will bring together the eight members of its executive committee, representatives of 18 districts and of hundreds of professional and amateur clubs.

The discussions will be revolve around the findings of an expert committee which, with the exception of two members representing fans, has also come out against a boycott.

“For a boycott to succeed, you need a critical mass behind it, an opposition that calls for it in the country, the UN to put pressure on the
authorities, the business world, the trade unions and civil society to put pressure on it in the long term,” committee chairman Sven Mollekleiv said in a debate hosted by broadcaster TV2.

“Historically, there are few successes,” he said.

Rather than a boycott, the committee recommended 26 measures to consolidate and further the gains made in Qatar but also to ensure that FIFA doesn’t become complicit in so called “sportswashing” — the polishing of a country’s public image through a major sporting event.

Some initial supporters of a boycott, like Tromso’s Hogli, have since sided with these conclusions, although calls for a complete boycott remain.

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