Anelka quits West Brom in wake of ‘quenelle’ salute ban
Nicolas Anelka has announced he will tear up his contract with West Brom and leave the club over the fall-out from his infamous ‘quenelle’ goal celebration.
Anelka is on Saturday due to begin a five-match ban imposed for making the gesture, which has anti-Semitic links, after scoring against West Ham on December 28. An independent regulatory commission accepted there was no intent byAnelka to be anti-Semitic.
His club opted not to appeal against the sanction, and after holding talks with his employers the former France striker wrote on Twitter: “I have taken the decision to free myself and put an end to the contract linking me with West Bromwich Albion.”
Anelka claims he made the gesture in support of his friend Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, a French comedian who has been convicted seven times of anti-Semitic crimes.
Following the incident, Anelka started all four of Albion’s Premier League games in January. But he has not featured since and is banned for the upcoming trips to Swansea, Hull and Norwich as well as home games against Cardiff and Tottenham.
Over the course of three posts written in French on his official Twitter account, Anelkawrote: “Following talks between the club and me, propositions were made to me in order to reintegrate me into the squad under certain conditions that I cannot accept.
“Wishing to retain my integrity, I have therefore taken the decision to free myself and put an end to the contract linking me with West Bromwich Albion to 2014, with immediate effect.”
West Brom were not immediately available to respond to Anelka’s comments.
Anelka’s grievance with the club has come to light just a day after they were criticised by the equality group Kick It Out, who also urged the Football Association to double the five-match minimum ban for racist or discriminatory offences.
The FA confirmed on Thursday that neither party would appeal against the length ofAnelka’s ban, with director of governance Darren Bailey explaining: “We do not consider there is a real prospect of successfully appealing to extend the sanction imposed.
“The grounds of appeal available to us are limited to legal challenges or to circumstances in which the sanction imposed is ‘so unduly lenient as to be unreasonable’. That is a high test.”
A Kick It Out statement in response read: “Kick It Out finds it difficult to reconcile the sanctions imposed and conclusions reached by the (independent regulatory) commission.
“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.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
