Nicolas Anelka faces minimum five-match ban over 'quenelle'

© Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images
Nicolas Anelka makes the 'quenelle' gesture after scoring against West Ham in December last year.

Nicolas Anelka has been charged by the Football Association for making a gesture that was alleged to be "abusive or indecent or insulting or improper" during the match against West Ham on 28 December last year.

An FA statement said: "It is alleged that, in the 40th minute of the fixture, Anelka made a gesture which was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, contrary to FA Rule E3 [1].

"It is further alleged that this is an aggravated breach, as defined in FA Rule E3 [2], in that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief."

Anelka has until 6pm on 23 January 2014 to respond to the charge.

The minimum suspension for the offence is five games though the FA could make it more.

West Brom issued a statement saying they had "noted The FA's charge against Nicolas Anelka regarding the gesture he made after scoring his first goal against West Ham United on December 28.

"Anelka has received a 34-page document explaining the allegations against him and informing him that he has until 6pm on Thursday to respond. The player is now considering his options.

"Under FA rules, Anelka remains available for first-team selection until the FA's disciplinary process has reached its conclusion. Following this, the club will conclude its own internal inquiry."

Anelka made the gesture, commonly interpreted as a quenelle, during a goal celebration against West Ham United last month. The quenelle has antisemitic connotations and has been described by some as an inverted Nazi salute, although Anelka has insisted he was merely showing solidarity with the French comedian Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala, who brought the gesture to prominence, and that it was an anti-establishment gesture lacking any racist intent.

Comment: The true sentiment of the gesture is plainly referenced, it's an "up yours!" to the system (the bent arm showing just how far up!). But comedian Dieudonne is critical of Zionism, is popular, and is being targeted by the powers that be to silence him. Propaganda and distortion such as the above are tools of the trade. The move by Zoopla adding to the hysteria.

In a world of 'gesture politics', the public mustn't be allowed to have their own (gestures or political opinions). Only officially sanctioned thoughts are permitted and being critical of Zionism is not on the list.

For more background see: The Move to Muzzle Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala

Dieudonné, however, has a chequered past - he has been prosecuted by the French government for insulting the memory of Holocaust victims and for holding antisemitic views. He was also recently banned from performing in Nantes.

As the FA's protracted investigation dragged on, West Brom's £3m-a-year sponsor, the property website Zoopla, announced that it would sever all ties with the Premier League club at the end of this season.

In a statement released on the eve of Albion's Premier League 1-1 draw with Everton at the Hawthorns on Monday night, Zoopla - co-owned by the Jewish businessman Alex Chesterman - said it had been reviewing its position ever since the Frenchman made the gesture.

The shirt sponsorship deal was due to expire at the end of the season but Zoopla, which was reported last week to have contacted the club to express dissatisfaction with Anelka's actions, opted to go public with its decision on Monday afternoon, after informing Albion in writing that it would not be seeking to renew its agreement for the 2014-15 campaign.

The FA brought in an expert to help decide on whether charges should be brought and has spent several weeks working on the case due to its sensitivity.

A three-man independent regulatory commission will now be appointed to deal with the case - either to decide on the sanction if Anelka admits the charge or to hold a disciplinary hearing if he denies it.

"If Nicolas Anelka is found guilty of a racial offence, then he deserves everything he gets," said Alan Cleverley, secretary of the West Bromwich Albion Official Supporters Club, told the BBC.

"You can't go on doing that. It sounds as if he did it on purpose because he knew the match was being shown live in France. So if the book gets thrown at him, I've got no sympathy whatsoever for him."

Football's antidiscrimination group Kick It Out, which has expressed frustration over the length of time taken to decide on the case, called for a swift conclusion.

A statement said: "The FA has previously demonstrated its commitment to taking effective and swift action to deal with all forms of abusive conduct in football, and has spent a longer time than desirable in order to give careful consideration to the allegations made in this case.

"Kick It Out awaits Anelka's response to the charge before making any further comment. The campaign hopes that this matter can now be quickly concluded."

Reader Comments

Ruth · 2014-01-22T02:01:56Z

Quennelling?

If they all did this out of sympathy for him, would they ban everyone?

sass · 2014-01-22T02:42:26Z

Good idea Ruth. And isn't that sometimes (often/usually) the way that no one is game to stand in support. Shame really.

Aeneas · 2014-01-22T03:47:16Z

The same thought came to me. What if all the football players across France did the quenelle to show solidarity with Anelka. The football players in England could also do it, both to show support and solidarity and also to "stick it" to the system so to speak.

Aeneas · 2014-01-22T03:42:36Z

The long arms of Zionism

This case also highlights how pervasive the influence of Zionism is.

HashAttack · 2014-01-22T03:46:35Z

Words people play

So the FA charge Anelka for racist behaviour but find him guilty of making an "improper" gesture

No proof, no conlcusion but sufficient innuendo to sell the idea that he had been racist
They also link the "offence" to actual racist incidents involving Terry and Suarez, even though there is no connection

"It is further alleged that this is an aggravated breach, as defined in FA Rule E3 [2], in that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief."

Sorry but since when is being Zionist an identity of ethnic origin or race or religion

I'll accept the Zionism is a beleif in the right to control the world, set up concentration camps and generally screw other people ... but why shouldn't people be allowed to critisize beliefs when they are so warped

jonathan2020 · 2014-01-22T06:03:46Z

So when does the V sign

or center digit become a racial slur?

These could all be considered indecent signs, but then you would have to ban all football fans, all players and every other being who gave it. It's the vile propaganda that Zio lobbyists have seemeingly been so successful in cultivating that needs debunking!

Lone Thinker · 2014-01-22T07:35:38Z

On The Grauniad...

fascinating that the Jewish-owned Guardian has been all over this story like a cheap suit while minimal coverage is given to a Labour MP who holds A NEO NAZI STAG DO IN FRANCE! No freaking joke, their moral acrobatics is a marvel to behold.

So, a French footballer in England is accused of anti-semitism for supporting a comedian who is anti-Zionist, while an English MP is excused his brazen contempt for moral decency and normal society on the very same website. A NEO NAZH STAG DO FOR CHRISSAKES! HOW MUCH MORE ANTI-SEMITIC CAN YOU GET? The MP is Aiden Burley, and he looks like a one-eyed pathological goomba to me. Check it out on their website, the Guardian is maddening, any hint of criticism of Zionism, or Jewish affairs, are siezed upon like a pack of rabid dogs whilst a likely racist polittician gets "soft" criticism. Is a critic of Nazism anti-German?

But then those of us who have followed the Grauniad (deliberate typo) know full well that the media outlet is a craven slave to Zionist interests to the detriment of objective reporting, that’s why they love Snowden and Assange. They are a mainstream limited hangout of piss-weak pseudo liberal, red rose wearing nu-labourites, and when push came to shove they were not opposed to the middle eastern invasions. Their reporting of these two stories has been very revealing, their loyalties to their paymasters is obvious.

I didn't think too much of Anelka before this, but I like him now, he speaks his mind, and good on his employers for not caving into the hysterical demands of the sponsors and the Zionist thought police that rule the British media with an infantile form of holocaust guilt tripping, hoping that people react rather than think.

And the upshot of all this? Pay lip service to Zionist interest groups and you can do as you please, at least until enough thoughtful people refuse to kow tow to the psychopathic mind game any more.

Lone Thinker · 2014-01-22T14:16:06Z

I would like to add to what I said above. I've seen some pretty disturbing photos on the web showing people posing for the quenelle outside synagogues, and it is clear to me that regardless of whether Dioudonne is exclusively anti establishment, that may well not be translating so well to his supporters, some of which may well be fanatical, or of course they may be acting against him.

I suspect that this may well on some level be a "drawing of the lines" to perhaps corral people into one of only two perspectives on this subject, that being pro or anti-semitic, thus closing off the debate about the more insidious effects of political Zionism. Another effect could well be a closing ranks among Jewish people for the obvious reasons.

Dioudonne has been quoted as referring to "holocaust pornography". Now, these are inflammatory and deeply insensitive words, though he may have been mis-quoted. If he meant exploited then he'd have made his point far better, you cannot really get away with ambiguous language when addressing racially sensitive issues, particularly in reference to an historical atrocity of mass murder.

I think Dioudonne is being used to stir up further conflict between France's disenfranchised minorities against Jews, divide and crack down, Machiavelli in action. This would then vindicate the Zionist thought police and their policy. There could be something big brewing here.

H-KQGE · 2014-01-23T08:30:43Z

"Zoopla.co.uk is a property website and is part of the Zoopla Property Group Ltd, a privately held company whose shareholders include DMG Media, a division of DMGT plc, the company which owns the Daily Mail and MailOnline." The tentacles reach far & wide. The ever-predictable Daily Mail has had its columnists ranting about Anelka from the off & of course, the rest of the "football intelligentsia" (fans including the paying public) have followed suit.

I'm wondering how all this "anti-Semitism is on the rise", & "Christians are being persecuted" malarkey is going to pan out in the near future. One way or another, it'll be brutal that's for sure.

ReRan: Afwan. i can’t take any credit if I am correct though, all praise is always His. SubhanAllahiwabihamd ihi. I don’t know about you, but I...

ablackflag

It took JPL 5 months to replace the retired geriatric CIA operative that has been faking the Voyager data this whole time. The Voyager craft never...

Charley Horse

Beautiful and scary at the same time. Wonder when the big one will strike! ☄️ P.S This is probably what happened over Stockton, California.

Gee

Hi All, I just finished reading “Grand Deception,” (I highly recommend it) and next wanted to find the documentary that was withheld from release....

Sweetness

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. It seems a bit late now to talk about an unnecessary NATO.

ReRan

Society's Child

Nicolas Anelka faces minimum five-match ban over 'quenelle'

Reader Comments

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk