After he insulted the then France coach, Raymond Domenech, Anekla was handed a substantial ban from the national side after France suffered a group-stage exit at the 2010 World Cup.
Patrice Evra, the captain at the time, was handed a 5 match ban whilst Franck Ribéry was banned for 3 games. Jérémy Toulalann was banned for one game whilst Eric Abidal was let off despite his role in the mutiny.
Speaking on what was an intense situation after their World Cup exit, Anelka revealed how furious he was and how he could not hold it in.
"I was frustrated going into the locker room,” Anelka recalled. "I was thinking to myself, 'I’m not getting the ball, I’m not finding a solution. We’re playing badly, it’s 0-0 and we still haven’t scored.'
"All of a sudden, the coach came in and called me out by name. When he called out my name with all that pent-up frustration it just came out because I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that he called me out by name as if I were guilty, as if it were all my fault.
"I took it as an attack. It was a big mistake. He had to know I was frustrated. He had to know I was a volcano about to erupt."
Having lost two games and drawn one and being knocked out in the Group Stage, many fans will understand the anger from the France players who were winners in 1998 and finalists in 2006.