March 7 – The English Football Association is reported to be considering whether to appeal against the five-match ban imposed by an independent commission on former French international striker for his infamous ‘quenelle’ gesture on the basis that it was too leniant.
Officials have now received the written reasons for ban which reportedly covers 35 pages and says that while the gesture is “strongly associated with anti-Semitism”, the three-man panel was not satisfied that Anelka was intentionally trying to be anti-Semitic in his notorious goal celebration after scoring for his present club West Bromwich Albion on December 28.
The written reasons also reveal that the FA had argued for a more severe sanction than the minimum five-match ban.
The commission said Anelka’s quenelle “did contain a reference to anti-Semitism” in that it is strongly associated with his friend, the French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala.
“We further concluded that Dieudonne is strongly associated with anti-Semitism and, as a result, we found that the quenelle is strongly associated with anti- Semitism,” said the commission.
“We agreed with the FA that it is not possible to divorce that association from the gesture. When Nicolas Anelka performed the quenelle on the 28 December 2013, it had that association; it was strongly associated with and contained a reference to anti-Semitism.”
However, the commission said that it was not satisfied that Anelka intended to “express or promote anti-Semitism by his use of the quenelle”.
Dieudonne has been prosecuted for inciting racism in France and the panel revealed that it had studied performances and interviews given by the comedian who was responsible for inventing the inverted Nazi salute – one arm straightened and pointed downwards, the other held across the chest.
“The question of whether objectively the (Anelka) quenelle contained a reference to anti-Semitism is different from the question of whether Nicolas Anelka is an anti-Semite and different from the question of whether he intended to express or promote anti-Semitism by his gesture,” the report said.
The commission’s report also revealed that in a witness statement, Anelka claimed that he had performed the ‘quenelle’ “purely to say hello to my friend, Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, as I knew he was watching the game”.
The much-travelled striker, who has often courted controversy throughout his career, had insisted in the immediate aftermath of the incident that he was “neither racist nor anti-Semite” and had merely performed the ‘quenelle’ as a “dedication” to Dieudonne without knowing fully what it meant.
Both Anelka and the FA now have seven days in which to appeal although it is thought unlikely either party will challenge the commission’s ruling.
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