Nicolas Anelka made headlines once again when French football's notorious bad boy reportedly made an anti-Semitic gesture to celebrate his goal for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
Anelka caused an uproar for the wrong reason in his homeland when he celebrated the goal he scored for West Bromwich Albion in the most recent Premier league game by making a gesture viewed as anti-Semitic. The Sports Minister of Frances described the gesture as "disgusting."
The controversial gesture caused an outcry in several countries witness to the game to the point that Moshe Kantor, European Jewish Congress President, has asked the Premier League to suspend Nicolas Anelka.
The Football Association is reportedly considering investigating the matter further and if found guilty of anti-Semitism, Nicole Anelka could be banned for a minimum of five matches for this season. This is in according with the disciplinary measures set and implented by the organizers to reduce and eliminate discriminatory offenses.
"This salute is merely a lesser known Nazi salute and we expect the same kind of punishment to be handed down by the authorities as if Anelka had made the infamous outstretched arm salute," Kantor remarked in a statement. "This salute was created by a well-known extreme anti-Semite who has displayed his hatred of Jews, mocked the Holocaust and Jewish suffering."
The gesture Nicolas Anelka made is known as "quenelle," a word for one of France's traditional dishes and has been made famous by Dieduonne M'bala M'bala, a French comedian. The gesture is often described as an inverted version of the Nazi salute and is characterized by pointing a straightend arm toward the ground while using the opposite hand to touch that arm's shoulder.
West Bromwich Albion's Nicolas Anelka did the move right after making his first goal in a 3-3 draw last Saturday. Anelka made two goals for that match.
Former France international Anelka, whose football career has had its ups and downs due to numerous controversy, defended his actions and said he was only expressing support for the comedian Dieudonne. Dieudonne, a political activist and stand-up comedan, has been repeatedly fined for anti-Semitic jokes and expressed his gratitude to Anelka for the support through his Facebook page.
"There should be no room for such intolerance and racism in sports and we expect that the English Premier League officials as well as the police will give Anelka the appropriate punishment," congress president Kantor said.
