European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor wants the Premier League to ban Nicolas Anelka after the bad boy of French football caused an outcry in his country by celebrating a goal scored with a gesture viewed as being anti-Semitic.
After scoring the first of his two goals in a 3-3 draw at West Ham on Saturday, Anelka performed a ''quenelle,'' a controversial gesture used by French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala and described as an inverted Nazi salute. It involves pointing one straightened arm downward while touching that arm's shoulder with the opposite hand.
Kantor said ''this salute is merely a lesser known Nazi salute and we expect the same kind of punishment to be handed down by the authorities as if Anelka had made the infamous outstretched arm salute.''
Anelka, whose career has been marred by controversy, has defended himself against the accusations, saying he did the quenelle as a mark of support for Dieudonne.
