West Brom striker
Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five games, fined £80,000 and ordered to
complete a compulsory education course after being found guilty of aggravated
misconduct for performing a 'quenelle' gesture.
An independent
commission ruled that the Frenchman breached the Football Association's code of
conduct when he made the controversial gesture after scoring against West Ham
in December.
"An independent
regulatory commission has found an aggravated breach of FA rule E3 against
Nicolas Anelka proven and has issued a five-match suspension and a fine of
£80,000, pending appeal," the FA said in a statement.
The rule in question
relates to "a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or
belief."
The commission also
ruled that Anelka had not been deliberately anti-Semitic.
The Frenchman, who
has the right to appeal, insists that the gesture was anti-establishment and
was not meant to cause offence.
As a result of the
ban, Anelka will miss the Baggies' fixtures against Manchester United, Swansea,
Hull, Cardiff and Norwich.
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