France vs Norway: A Whole New 23

July 29th, 2010 | by: Sarah | View Comments

Which 23 players will this fan be cheering for on August 11th..?

As punishment for the events that transpired during the World Cup, Blanc has asked permission from the French Football Federation (FFF) to suspend the entire squad of 23 players that represented France at the World Cup for the next friendly France play.  A statement on the FFF website read:

“Laurent Blanc proposed to the federal council – who accepted – not to retain for the friendly against Norway, on Wednesday August 11 in Oslo, any of the 23 players officially selected by the French Football Federation for the World Cup in South Africa.”

Not really a surprise the FFF granted his request considering several of its members have been calling for life bans for some of the players.  Jacques Rousselot, a member of the FFF Council, has called for the team’s leaders who organized a boycott of training during France’s World Cup meltdown in South Africa to be banned for life.

“We know the five leaders…They must not play again for the national team.”

But Rousselot is not the only outspoken member of the FFF to call for such extreme measures.  Bleus alum (and World Cup 1998 Champion), Lillian Thuram, has also called for a life ban for Patrice Evra.  It remains to be seen if such extremes will be taken, for now Blanc has found a way to both punish such behavior without scapegoating certain members of the team (all statements given by the players – even Jeremy Toulalan – indicate it was a result of a collective decision without a single voice of dissent) AND delay making a final decision of “life bans” until cooler heads prevail.

But, in case you forgot, that means the following players will not be called up when France play Norway on August 11th in an international friendly: