Laurent Blanc Receives Permission To Exclude France World Cup Squad From August Friendly

France coach Laurent Blanc will follow-through with threats to exclude all 23 members of the World Cup squad from next month's friendly with Norway, it was announced today.

Blanc received permission from the French Football Federation's federal council today, with the decision being termed a suspension.

Blanc had earlier proposed the idea as a means of restoring order to a team whose 2010 World Cup was marred by a player protest.  That boycott cancelled a training session two days before Les Bleus' final match.

Amongst the 23 men to be excluded is Franck Ribéry, recently charged with solicitation of an underage prostitute, Nicolas Anelka, whose exclusion from the team after France's second World Cup match sparked the player protest, and Thierry Henry, who has already announced his international retirement in conjunction with his move to the New York Red Bulls.

France's match against Norway will take place on August 11 in Oslo.

The following players, selected for the team that represented France in South Africa, will be excluded from the friendly:

• Goalkeepers:  Cédric Carrasso, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda
• Defenders:  Éric Abidal, Gaël Clichy, Patrick Evra, William Gallas, Marc Planus, Anthony Réveillère, Sébastien Squillaci
• Midfielders:  Abu Diaby, Alou Diarra, Yoann Gourcuff, Florent Malouda, Franck Ríbery, Jérémy Toulalan, Mathieu Valbuena
• Forwards: Nicolas Anelka, Djibril Cissé, André-Pierre Gignac, Sidney Govou, Thierry Henry