Patrice Evra insists he is “surprised” that he and four France team-mates have been singled out by the French Football Federation following their farcical World Cup campaign.
The FFF on Friday called five players to appear before its disciplinary committee to discuss the behaviour of the national team during the tournament, when in-fighting led to them being eliminated in the group stage.
Evra, Eric Abidal, Nicolas Anelka, Franck Ribery and Jeremy Toulalan will appear at the hearing, with the remaining members of the 23-man squad excused from attending.
However, an FFF statement confirmed other squad members may be called before the committee “if deemed appropriate”.
France’s World Cup campaign descended into farce after the squad went on strike after Chelsea striker Anelka was sent home from South Africa after an altercation with then coach Raymond Domenech.
Les Bleus also finished bottom of their group after scoring just one goal and earning one point in three matches.
The fall-out from the team’s lamentable performance led to new coach Laurent Blanc suspending all 23 members of the World Cup squad from his selection for the friendly against Norway in Oslo next week, while the FFF also withheld bonuses owed to the players.
Evra, who was named captain before the World Cup began but was dropped for the final group game, told Le Figaro: “I am surprised, because I thought everyone wanted to turn the page after the World Cup. We must think about the future.
“Why punish us more than others? It’s over now. The penalty of not selecting the 23 players from the World Cup for the friendly with Norway is consistent. That showed that there were not five or six ‘ringleaders’, as had been written.”
Bayern Munich have reacted angrily to reports that Ribery has been summoned to Paris for a hearing with the FFF and said they will not release their player.
“It is not on that the French Federation randomly remove Franck Ribery from his responsibilities with FC Bayern,” said Bayern’s chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in a press release.
“The preparations for the new Bundesliga season have priority over the World Cup debriefing of the French Federation.”