Players' Refusal to Train an Embarrassment for France, Domenech

One day after striker Nicolas Anelka was thrown off the French World Cup squad following a profanity-laden exchange with head coach Raymond Domenech, the entire team fell into disarray Sunday as they refused to train in protest of Anelka's expulsion.

Blood must be boiling throughout Ireland watching this.

Following a conversation with Domenech at the beginning of training, French captain Patrice Evra got into a heated exchange with fitness coach Robert Duverne, with Domenech needing to step in to separate the two. Evra then handed Domenech a letter stating the following before boarding the team bus at the team's training grounds in Knysna, South Africa:

"The French Football Federation did not at any time try to protect the group. They took a decision uniquely based on facts reported by the press. As a consequence and to show our opposition to the decision taken by officials of the federation, all the players decided not to take part in today's training session."

France team director Jean-Louis Valentin immediately announced his resignation following the incident, getting into his car and leaving the training grounds after stating:

"It's a scandal for the French, for the young people here. It's a scandal for the federation and the French team. They don't want to train. It's unacceptable."

"As for me, it's over. I'm leaving the federation. I'm sickened and disgusted."

Here's footage of the dust-up between Evra, Duverne and Domenech, as well as statements in French from Domenech and Valentin:


The bottom line here is that the entire incident is a tremendous embarrassment for French soccer and the nation on the whole, one that makes Zinedine Zidane's head butt heard 'round the world seem like a minor slip up in comparison. It shows blatant disrespect to the World Cup and perhaps a lack of understanding by the French players of just how seriously they should be approaching the tournament.

Evra was quoted following the team's 2-0 loss to Mexico on Thursday as saying France had become, "a small football nation." The individual talent on the French team would say otherwise, but when you look at how far the team has tumbled since its loss to Italy in the 2006 World Cup Final, Evra may have a point. If he truly does believe that his nation has become a small player on the world soccer stage, then he and his teammates should be embracing the opportunity to play in the World Cup, an opportunity infrequently afforded small soccer nations, as opposed to disrespecting the event with the team's internal quarrels.


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Mind you, this incident is a further indoctrination of Domenech as well, the embattled head coach who many believe has no business still being in charge of the team. His tactics on the field and his treatment of players off of it -- such as his repeated 2008 call-ups of Claude Makelele, despite the midfielder's retirement from international soccer -- have both come under heavy scrutiny over the past four years. He's unpopular in his country, disliked by his players and clearly his results on the pitch since the team's run to the 2006 Final have not been up to par.

He's also a lame duck to the fullest extent of the term, with former Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc already lined up to inherit his job at the conclusion of the World Cup. Domenech seemed likely to be dismissed following France's disappointing performance at the 2008 European Championships, yet he's remained in place as a clearly divisive figure. Perhaps his most damning criticism came from the former French captain Zidane, who after the team's opening 0-0 draw with Uruguay told the UK Daily Mail that Domenech "is not a coach" and that "there is no teamwork among the French players."

It was only a matter of time before tensions came to a head between Domenech and his players. Valentin and the French Football Federation were almost asking for trouble by continuing to allow Domenech to coach the team. Unfortunately for France, the Domenech drama reached a climax on the biggest stage possible.
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French National Team

And what of Ireland, who must sit home and watch this unfold, knowing that they perhaps should have had France's place in the World Cup field. France, of course, qualified for the World Cup thanks to a disputed goal in the second leg of their playoff with Ireland, famously set up by a Thierry Henry handball that went unnoticed by the referee. It's certainly not too much of a stretch to imagine that the Irish, a true small football nation, by Evra's definition, would be approaching the World Cup with a bit more dignity and a little less strife.

As things stand, the French face long odds of advancing into the knockout stage when Group A play resumes on Tuesday. Sitting next to South Africa at the bottom of the group with one point each and trailing leaders Uruguay and Mexico by three points, France would need to defeat the host nation and hope to make up a four-goal differential in the event of a Mexico loss to Uruguay, or a five-goal differential in the event of an Uruguay loss in order to avoid elimination. A loss to South Africa or a draw between Mexico and Uruguay would send the 1998 World Cup champions home, no matter what.

For their own sake and the world's sake, an early exit may be a reprieve very much in order.