Quenelle Salute Gets Nicolas Anelka Banned From Games

A “quenelle salute” performed after a goal gets Nicolas Anelka banned from the game.

In a related report from The Inquisitr, Nicolas Anelka has already made headlines for what many French consider a hateful, anti-Semitic gesture.

The quenelle salute seen ’round the world. The gesture, for those of you who may not know, is made by putting one arm across the chest and straightening the other, and is considered by the French a hateful, abusive action. Apparently the athlete will not only be banned, he may also be charged by the Football Association (FA), though it’s unclear what exactly that entails. The FA has said Nicolas Anelka made a gesture that is “abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper” and included “a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief”. He faces a five game minimum suspension and an independent three-person committee is set to review his case.

The “‘quenelle” itself has been recently popularized by Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, a French comedian who made up the gesture. Though the quenelle salute went completely unnoticed in England, in France it caused quite the stir (obviously) as recent racial intolerance towards Jews in France has increased sensitivity of anything anti-Semitic.

The gesture itself is supposedly an “inverted Nazi salute” that Nicolas Anelka made as a “gesture of support for the comedian”, who is his friend. Anelka’s head coach didn’t express any problems with the athlete himself:

“I am only head coach. He is a good personality. He needs a goal and he will work for me very well.”

French Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron, the French Sports Minister aired her opinions:

“Anelka’s gesture is a shocking provocation, disgusting. There’s no place for anti-Semitism on the football field.”

In the mean time, Nicolas Anelka did agree to not use the quenelle salute again.

So what do you think about the quenelle salute getting Nicolas Anelka banned from games?