Politicians unimpressed by France row

The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, has asked his sports minister Roselyne Bachelot to meet with the key people involved in the bitter national team row which has wrecked their World Cup chances.

The French Football Federation sent home striker Nicolas Anelka after a foul-mouthed rant at team coach Raymond Domenech, and the French players, led by team captain Patrice Evra, refused to train in protest at the decision to expel the Chelsea forward.