PARIS: France coach Laurent Blanc insists he would pick whoever he saw fit for next week’s friendly against Brazil after Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno demanded World Cup rebels apologise before donning the national shirt again.
Blanc is set to recall Patrice Evra and Franck Ribery for the Brazil date on Feb 9, and insisted in an interview withMidi Libre newspaper that he was “totally free to choose” the players he wants, despite Jouanno demanding they first apologise for their leading role in last summer’s player strike in South Africa.
The squad mutinied after a dressing room row between former coach Raymond Domenech and veteran forward Nicolas Anelka saw the Chelsea veteran unceremoniously sent home while the team went on to crash out in the opening phase.
Politicians of all stripes were outraged at the players’ behaviour, which they judged brought shame on the nation – but Blanc, who replaced Domenech after the tournament, insists he is his own man and can call up who he likes.
Manchester United’s Evra and Bayern Munich’s Ribery both served suspensions for their roles in the player rebellion and the former is now fit to return while Ribery is currently injured.
Jouannou, a former karate champion, said at the weekend that she “cannot understand the suggestion that the leaders of the rebellion in South Africa can be reinstated.”
She opined that bringing them back into the fold “would be inadmissible” given that they had embarrassed France.
“You cannot bring shame on France and then expect to play for the national team again,” she insisted, demanding that the pair at least first apologise.
“Aside from speaking out I cannot do anything,” she conceded. “I have nothing against Evra, but as a player of the French team and especially as captain he did not defend sporting values which are also those of the Republic,” Jouannou told sports daily l’Equipe.
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