Anelka vows to stop 'Nazi' gesture

NICOLAS Anelka has vowed not to make the quenelle gesture again as two more top players became embroiled in the race row.

West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka makes the controversial gesture as he celebrates a goal.

NICOLAS Anelka vowed not to perform the controversial quenelle gesture again as two more Barclays Premier League players became embroiled in the race row surrounding the alleged anti-Semitic salute.

Photographs of Samir Nasri, the Manchester City midfielder, and Mamadou Sakho, the Liverpool defender, have appeared on social media showing the France players making the same gesture as Anelka, their compatriot.

The pictures were taken separately in November but republished on Twitter late on Sunday, 24 hours after Anelka, the West Bromwich Albion striker, celebrated scoring in the 3-3 draw away to West Ham United by making the gesture, described by Jewish groups as an inverted Nazi salute.

Anelka has defended his actions by insisting that his gesture was misinterpreted and merely a tribute to Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, the French comedian who popularised it, and had never been intended as a racist slur, but an "anti-system" message.

Nonetheless, Anelka has promised his club that he will not perform the gesture again and is likely to discover today whether he will face action from the FA over the incident. If charged by the governing body and found guilty, the 34-year-old could be banned for a minimum of five matches.

"The club fully acknowledges that Nicolas's goal celebration has caused offence in some quarters and has asked Nicolas not to perform the gesture again," West Brom said. "Nicolas immediately agreed to adhere to this request."

Sakho, pictured making the gesture alongside Dieudonne, moved quickly to insist he had been duped and was completely unaware of its connotations. "This photo was taken six months ago. I did not know the meaning of this gesture," the Liverpool centre half said. "I was tricked."

Similarly, Nasri was said by sources at City to have been unaware of the gesture's anti-Semitic associations when he performed it with a friend outside the club's training ground. It is understood he agreed to it because he was told it was popular in France.

The original picture of Nasri was posted on Facebook on November 6 on a page created in support of two French soldiers who were sanctioned for performing the gesture in uniform in front of a Paris synagogue.

THE TIMES