Nicolas Anelka will not contest a court decision to rule against him in his legal action with French sport daily L’Equipe over their reporting of his World Cup outburst, his agent said on Friday.
Anelka had claimed 150,000 euros ($214,000) in damages from L’Equipe over their coverage of his altercation with coach Raymond Domenech at half-time of France’s 2-0 Group A defeat by Mexico in South Africa on June 17 last year.
The Chelsea striker was immediately substituted before being sent home by the French Football Federation (FFF), prompting the rest of the squad to boycott an open training session in protest at his exclusion.
Anelka was subsequently banned for 18 matches by the FFF, effectively ending his international career.
L’Equipe were cleared of libel by a court in Paris on July 1, with the two journalists who had written the report — Raphael Raymond and Damien Degorre — judged to have just been doing their job.
“Nicolas Anelka is satisfied with the decision,” read a statement from the player’s agent sent to AFP on Thursday.
-WIth The Daily Star input
