Belgium drop Hazard for friendly

Lille’s Eden Hazard has been dropped from the Belgium squad ahead of Wednesday’s friendly against Slovenia.

Coach George Leekens explained his decision at a press conference ahead of the friendly and insisted everyone must comply with his rules.

Hazard was substituted in the 60th minute of his country’s clash with Turkey which happened to be a crucial European Championship qualifier.

Instead of joining his colleagues on the bench, he went straight down the tunnel, much to the disgust of his coach.

The Lille forward was in sensational form with the French club last season which saw him earn the Ligue 1 player of the year accolade. However despite his importance to the team, Leekens insists it is the right thing to do.

”Everyone must respect the rules,” Leekens was quoted by France Football.

”Since it is only a friendly, I don’t think it is a severe punishment.

“(Hazard) will remember this and return to the field. He will target results and this is most important.”

Belgium are playing Slovenia at the Petrol Arena on August 10. They are currently second in Group A of the Euro 2012 qualifiers behind Germany.

However, despite being a point ahead of Turkey, they have played one game more than Guus Hiddink’s side.