PARIS: France midfielder Yann Mvila of Ligue 1 outfit Rennes will appeal his 18-month international ban which rules him out of the 2014 World Cup finals, his lawyer told AFP on Friday.
“The decision to appeal was taken and a recorded delivery letter will be sent early next week,” Mvila’s lawyer Thierry Fillion said.
On November 8 five France under-21 players including Mvila picked up lengthy international bans (the others until December 31, 2013 and Mvila until July 14, 2014) as punishment for breaking a night-time curfew between two key European championship qualifiers.
Mvila, 22-years-old, already had 22 senior caps times but was with the Under-21’s after being warned over future conduct when he refused to shake coach Laurent Blanc’s hand when substituted during their quarter-final defeat to Spain at Euro 2012.
The French Football Federation identified Mvila as the ringleader behind the ill-judged round-trip taxi-ride from the north coast port of Le Havre to a Champs Elysee nightspot in Paris.
The team had beaten Norway 1-0 the previous evening in a Euro 2013 play-off but suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Scandinavians 5-3 in the return.
France coach Erick Mombaerts was sacked after the loss.
The others were Rennes’ Chris Mavinga, Wissam Ben Yedder of Toulouse, Real Sociedad’s Antoine Griezmann and Mbaye Niang of AC Milan. — AFP