Anelka hurt by France exclusion: team-mate

France international striker Nicolas Anelka has been deeply upset by the 18-match ban he received for swearing at coach Raymond Domenech during the World Cup, his Chelsea team-mate Florent Malouda said on Monday.

“He’s my team-mate at Chelsea, I can’t be neutral and I don’t want to create controversy,” said French international Malouda.

“He is obviously affected, 18 matches, it’s not insignificant but he’s not going to stop playing because of it.”

The unprecedented sanction means that the 31-year-old Anelka will not play for his country again.

The French Football Federation’s disciplinary commission also handed out a five-match ban to World Cup captain Patrice Evra, three matches to vice-captain Franck Ribery and one match to Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan.

But Malouda – who scored France’s only goal in the World Cup in the final group match against hosts South Africa which ended with a 2-1 defeat – insisted that all the players now wanted to move forward and put the fiasco behind them.

“It’s difficult to give my opinion on this, I’m not neutral, I was there. When you say that you want to turn the page and move forward you can’t keep going back over it,” he added.