BANNED FRENCH STRIKER Nicolas Anelka on Friday revealed he will leave West Bromwich Albion with immediate effect.
Anelka, who turned 35 on Friday, was due to start a five-match suspension after being punished for his controversial “quenelle” goal celebration but instead he has decided to terminate his contract with the Premier League club.
“Following discussions between the club and me, proposals have been made to me that I rejoined the group under certain conditions,” Anelka wrote on his official Twitter account.
“I cannot accept. Wishing to keep my integrity, so I decided to free myself and to terminate the contract linking me with West Bromwich Albion until 2014 as of now.”
Anelka’s contract with the Baggies was set to expire at the end of the season and it had already been reported that he was considering quitting the Hawthorns after growing disillusioned over the controversy surrounding his now infamous use of what many regard as an anti-semitic gesture to celebrate a goal in West Brom’s 3-3 draw at West Ham on December 28.
The ex-France international strenuously denied all allegations of being racist or anti-semitic and said the salute was to show solidarity with his friend, controversial French comedian Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala.
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On Thursday, the Football Association (FA) decided against appealing the length of Anelka’s five-match ban, issued by an independent commission for his actions.
Anelka, who has spent 12 years of his career in the Premier League with six clubs, is understood to have also accepted the ruling, which means his suspension would have started with West Brom’s match at Swansea on Saturday.
The FA were considering an appeal to obtain an increase to the ban, which was the minimum that could be handed out based on the governing body’s new rules overseeing offences of a racist nature.
West Brom have yet to confirm Anelka’s revelation that he is set to leave, with their own investigation into the former Arsenal and Real Madrid star’s actions expected to conclude next week.
Albion had already lost one sponsor as a result of the row and the club had not ruled out sacking Anelka for his quenelle gesture.
Anelka’s apparently acrimonious exit from Albion has come to light just a day after the club and the Football Association were criticised by the equality group Kick It Out, who urged the FA to double the five-match minimum ban for racist or discriminatory offences.
“Kick It Out finds it difficult to reconcile the sanctions imposed and conclusions reached by the (independent regulatory) commission,” the Kick It Out statement read.
“There are many ambiguities that are not easily reconcilable with the final outcome. For instance, Anelka has attended one of Dieudonne’s live performances and admits to being a friend of his, and to claim that he does not understand the anti-Semitic connotations of the quenelle is beyond feasibility.
“Kick It Out urges the FA to review its anti-discrimination regulations and increase its minimum ban for players found guilty of discriminatory acts to 10 matches, in line with UEFA, so as to provide a much more meaningful deterrent to deal with potential offences.
“His employer West Bromwich Albion should have exercised its leadership as a community institution to apologise for the offence caused and deal with the matter in accordance with its disciplinary procedures.”
Following the incident, Anelka started all four of Albion’s Premier League games in January. But he has not featured since and was due to miss relegation-threatened Albion’s matches against Swansea, Hull, Norwich, Cardiff and Tottenham.
Banned Nicolas Anelka to leave West Brom
BANNED FRENCH STRIKER Nicolas Anelka on Friday revealed he will leave West Bromwich Albion with immediate effect.
Anelka, who turned 35 on Friday, was due to start a five-match suspension after being punished for his controversial “quenelle” goal celebration but instead he has decided to terminate his contract with the Premier League club.
“Following discussions between the club and me, proposals have been made to me that I rejoined the group under certain conditions,” Anelka wrote on his official Twitter account.
“I cannot accept. Wishing to keep my integrity, so I decided to free myself and to terminate the contract linking me with West Bromwich Albion until 2014 as of now.”
Anelka’s contract with the Baggies was set to expire at the end of the season and it had already been reported that he was considering quitting the Hawthorns after growing disillusioned over the controversy surrounding his now infamous use of what many regard as an anti-semitic gesture to celebrate a goal in West Brom’s 3-3 draw at West Ham on December 28.
On Thursday, the Football Association (FA) decided against appealing the length of Anelka’s five-match ban, issued by an independent commission for his actions.
Anelka, who has spent 12 years of his career in the Premier League with six clubs, is understood to have also accepted the ruling, which means his suspension would have started with West Brom’s match at Swansea on Saturday.
The FA were considering an appeal to obtain an increase to the ban, which was the minimum that could be handed out based on the governing body’s new rules overseeing offences of a racist nature.
West Brom have yet to confirm Anelka’s revelation that he is set to leave, with their own investigation into the former Arsenal and Real Madrid star’s actions expected to conclude next week.
Albion had already lost one sponsor as a result of the row and the club had not ruled out sacking Anelka for his quenelle gesture.
Anelka’s apparently acrimonious exit from Albion has come to light just a day after the club and the Football Association were criticised by the equality group Kick It Out, who urged the FA to double the five-match minimum ban for racist or discriminatory offences.
“Kick It Out finds it difficult to reconcile the sanctions imposed and conclusions reached by the (independent regulatory) commission,” the Kick It Out statement read.
“Kick It Out urges the FA to review its anti-discrimination regulations and increase its minimum ban for players found guilty of discriminatory acts to 10 matches, in line with UEFA, so as to provide a much more meaningful deterrent to deal with potential offences.
“His employer West Bromwich Albion should have exercised its leadership as a community institution to apologise for the offence caused and deal with the matter in accordance with its disciplinary procedures.”
Following the incident, Anelka started all four of Albion’s Premier League games in January. But he has not featured since and was due to miss relegation-threatened Albion’s matches against Swansea, Hull, Norwich, Cardiff and Tottenham.
- © AFP, 2014
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All-Ireland Senior HC Barclays Premier League Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala Kick it out Nicolas Anelka West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wave Goodbye