English FA ban West Brom striker Nicolas Anelka for 5 games over quenelle gesture

LONDON – West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka was banned for five games by the English Football Association on Thursday for performing an offensive gesture while celebrating during a Premier League match.

But the FA disciplinary panel backed Anelka’s insistence that he was not promoting anti-Semitism by performing the gesture, which is known in France as a “quenelle” and has been described as an “inverted Nazi salute.”

The panel found only that the gesture “was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper,” but cleared Anelka of a charge that directly accused him of racism.

“We did not find that Nicolas Anelka is an anti-Semite or that he intended to express or promote anti-Semitism by his use of the quenelle,” the verdict added.

But the commission, which heard the case this week, decided the former France international should miss five games. He was also fined 80,000 pounds ($133,000) and ordered to complete an education course.

The sanction won’t take effect until Anelka decides whether to appeal within seven days of receiving the commission’s written reasons.

Anelka performed the “quenelle” as he celebrated scoring in West Brom’s 3-3 draw with West Ham on Dec. 28.

The gesture involves pointing one straightened arm downward while touching the shoulder with the opposite hand. It was popularized by French comedian Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala, who has been convicted multiple times for inciting racial hatred or anti-Semitism.