Anelka banned for 'quenelle' gesture

West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five matches and fined £80,000 for his controversial "quenelle" gesture. He has also been ordered to complete a compulsory education course, following a two-day Football Association hearing. Anelka, 34, denied his use of the sign, described as an "inverted Nazi salute", was anti-Semitic. He has the right to appeal against the ruling. He made the action during West Brom's draw with West Ham on 28 December. ntinue reading the main story “We did not find that Nicolas Anelka is an anti-Semite” FA's independent regulatory commission The ban and fine are suspended until after the outcome of any appeal. The Frenchman and his legal team mounted a defence this week before the independent regulatory commission hearing, at the Grove Hotel in Watford. He told the three-member panel, headed by a QC, that the gesture was a signal in support of his friend, the French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, the person who first brought the quenelle to prominence. The commission said in a statement on the FA website  that the two charges Anelka faced - that the gesture was abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper, and that it included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief - were both proven.