France coach suspended for inappropriate remarks

PARIS: France coach Raymond Domenech has been suspended for one match after being found in breach of UEFA's disciplinary regulations, the European soccer body said on Monday.

Domenech has been handed a touchline ban for his side's Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy in Milan on September 8 and fined 10,000 Swiss Francs for bringing football into disrepute.

He has three days to appeal against the decision which follows inappropriate remarks made to a French newspaper.

The French Football Federation (FFF) said in a statement it would meet with Domenech on Tuesday to decide whether to appeal or not.

"The FFF and its national coach have noted the decision by UEFA's disciplinary committee," the statement read.

"The FFF and Raymond Domenech will meet on Tuesday to determine how to follow up on this decision by the European body," it added.

In an interview with daily Le Parisien earlier this month, Domenech accused Italy of bribing the referee of an under-21 international between France and Italy during the qualifying competition for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

UEFA president Michel Platini reacted by saying Domenech should provide evidence to back up his allegations or face sanctions.

In the interview, Domenech also praised Italy defender Marco Materazzi for provoking Zinedine Zidane into head-butting him in last year's World Cup final. Zidane was sent off and France lost on penalties.

Domenech also told Le Parisien he had doubts about the officiating of the upcoming qualifier between the two rivals.

"I'm not the one who invented the stories about refereeing in Italy," Domenech said. "Some matches have been fixed."

Italy's 2006 match-fixing scandal, which led to Juventus being demoted and four clubs having points deducted, centred on teams trying to secure favorable referees for league matches.

After the interview was released, FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes stepped in to try to defuse matters.

Escalettes called his Italian counterpart Giancarlo Abete to make clear the comments made by the France coach were only his (Domenech's) own views.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/29/2007 page23)