Striker Nicolas Anelka was kicked out of France's World Cup squad Saturday for insulting coach Raymond Domenech and refusing to apologize, the French Football Federation (FFF) said. Anelka insulted Domenech in a crude manner at halftime of a 2-0 defeat by Mexico Thursday in Polokwane after the coach had criticized the player's attitude on the pitch and decided to take him off for the second half. “The comments made by Nicolas Anelka are totally unacceptable and it was normal for us to take such a decision,” French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes told a news conference in Knysna. Anelka, Escalettes said, muttered the words in a corner after Domenech's remarks and the coach heard them. The player refused to apologize. The striker reacted by saying he had words with Domenech but denied having said the foul-month comments attributed to him by L'Equipe. “I have a lot of respect for France and for all my teammates, I insist on that,” Anelka was quoted as saying on the website of French daily France Soir (www.francesoir.fr). “I wish to state that the words printed in the press were not my words,” he added. “I did have a heated conversation with the coach in the secrecy of the locker room, between the coach and myself, in front of my teammates and the staff. It should never had come out of the locker room.” France captain Patrice Evra said: “The problem is not Anelka, it's the traitor among us, who told the press what was said,” the left back said. “There's somebody in our group that wants to harm the France team.”
