rated dressing room row sparked mutiny

Liverpool star was handed 18-match ban after X-rated dressing room row sparked mutiny

France take on Spain at the World Cup tonight and one ex-Liverpool man may be watching on through his fingers

As France takes on Spain in the World Cup semi-finals tonight, watching the tournament may bring back haunted memories for one former Liverpool man.

Nicolas Anelka was hit with an 18-match ban and dumped out of the France squad following a furious dressing room row with the manager. The ex-Liverpool striker spent a season on loan at Anfield in 2001, scoring five goals and assisting three times in 22 appearances.

He also turned out for Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, winning the Premier League and the Champions League during his career. Anelka was a regular in the French national team, earning 69 caps and scoring 14 goals.

Winning the European Championship in 2000 was definitely a highlight but he is most known for his bust-up at the 2010 World Cup with manager Raymond Domenech. Anelka was sent home following this scrap and banned from the squad - with his teammates standing by him throughout the chaos.

FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook page

The France team went on strike to support their colleague and suffered a group-stage exit in South Africa after scoring just one goal. The argument occurred during France's defeat to Mexico in the second group stage game. The team exited the pitch at halftime goalless and Anelka felt the full wrath of Domenech's words in the dressing room.

"I was frustrated going into the locker room,” Anelka recalled. "I was thinking to myself, 'I’m not getting the ball, I’m not finding a solution. We’re playing badly, it’s 0-0 and we still haven’t scored.'

"All of a sudden, the coach came in and called me out by name. When he called out my name with all that pent-up frustration it just came out because I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that he called me out by name as if I were guilty, as if it were all my fault.

"I took it as an attack. It was a big mistake. He had to know I was frustrated. He had to know I was a volcano about to erupt."

Anelka was dropped from the squad and told to apologise for his outburst, but he refused and the team declined to train in support of their striker. France exited the World Cup and Anelka was banned from the international set-up for 18 matches by the French Football Federation.

New manager Laurent Blanc also suspended every member of the World Cup squad for their actions ahead of his first game in charge against Norway. Anelka never earned another cap for France and retired in 2016 at the age of 36.

Click here to read article