France president Nicolas Sarkozy has weighed into the row between Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka and the FFF.

Sarkozy has asked his sports minister, Roselyne Bachelot, to meet with the key people involved.

Anelka arrived back at Heathrow this morning after being sent home by the French Football Federation following an alleged outburst at manager Raymond Domenech.

That prompted the players to refuse to train yesterday but they returned to training this morning ahead of tomorrow's match with South Africa.

Bachelot said: "We are taking note of the indignation of the French people and calling for dignity and responsibility. It's not yet the right time to take disciplinary action but that time will come very soon."