Manchester City and France midfield man Samir Nasri allegedly seriously lost it with a French journalist following France’s uninspired performance in their 2 – 0 loss to Spain in their Euro 2012 quarter-final.
Immediately after the match Nasri was passing through the media area in the Donbass Arena when a French reporter asked him for his reaction to his team’s defeat. Nasri refused to comment on the game and instead told the reporter: “You’re always looking to write about sh*t.” At which point the stunned reporter apparently told Nasri to “Sod off.”
Nasri – who had watched much of the match from the substitutes’ bench, before coming on for a fairly ineffectual appearance after 65 minutes – astonished those in earshot by telling the reporter: “Come on, we can settle this over there,” he then allegedly shouted: “F@£k you, go f*!k your mother, son of a (you get the rest!!!) .There, now you can say that I’ve been badly brought up.”
Nasri’s latest outburst – which has been reported in several other media outlets this morning – comes after his recent finger on lips gesture as he called out the words “Shut your mouth,” following his goal celebration against England earlier in the tournament. This too apparently was aimed at his critics in the French media.
And now this latest controversy, plus rumours of dressing-room bust-ups and a lacklustre campaign on the pitch suggests Laurent Blanc and his French team – who had gone 21 games unbeaten prior to the Euro 2012 tournament, and built-up a lot of goodwill back in France – can probably expect a pretty tough time from fans and media alike when they get back home. Questions are already being asked in the French press with regard to Laurent Blanc continuing in his role as team manager, and whether Sami Nasri should be banned or fined for his continued poor behaviour in a France shirt.