Israel Matzav

Anelka to be disciplined by British 'Football' Association over Nazi salute

French soccer player Nicolas Anelka is to be disciplined by the British 'Football' Association for giving the quenelle reverse Nazi salute (pictured above) in a game last month. This is from the first link.

The Football Association (FA) announced Monday that it would be charging Nicolas Anelka over making the 'quenelle' gesture, which is deemed "abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper," according to a statement. 

The Association, which is the governing authority for soccer in England, added it was "an aggravated breach in that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief." 

The ban could be as little as five games, or be extended to different or more severe forms of punishment by the FA, according to BBC. Anelka has until January 23 to respond formally to the charges.

The FA was practically forced to act - they've been silent for nearly a month.

The FA has remained largely silent until now, despite the media circus which began immediately after the gesture was made in December. On December 30, the FA claimed that Anelka would still be eligible for selection. 

BBC reports that following news of the charge, anti-discrimination group Kick It Out issued a statement expressing condemning the FA's lengthy silence.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, a leading Jewish group in the UK, focused instead on the positive: that the FA had finally broken its silence. 

"We support the FA in treating this incident seriously and we look to them to follow through with equal determination," it stated. "The board believes that any behavior on or off the pitch with racist connotations should be addressed with zero tolerance and should be kicked out by the football authorities."

The news surfaces just one day after Zoopla, a property website, ended its sponsorship of Anelka's team West Bromwich Albion over the incident. 

"Zoopla has been reviewing its position over the past few weeks in light of the actions of striker Nicolas Anelka during the match against West Ham over the Christmas period and has decided to focus its attention on other marketing activities after this season," the company said.

 It would be great if this Jew-hating creep were banned for life, but that's probably hoping for too much.

Labels: British anti-Semitism, Dieudonne, French anti-Semitism, Nazis, soccer

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:41 PM