Nicolas Anelka brands fellow French countrymen as racists

French striker Nicolas Anelka has branded his fellow countrymen small-minded racists.

The Chelsea ace, who returns to France tomorrow for the Champions League clash with Marseille, said: "People said there was a clan of black players in the French squad at the World Cup, and we then saw the true face of France."

"When the France team fails to win people start talking straight away about the players' skin colours and religious beliefs," The Sun quoted Anelka, as saying.

"When times get tough we find out what people really think. They said Franck Ribery had hit Yoann Gourcuff - Ribery the Muslim, and Gourcuff the good French boy," he said.

Anelka, 31, was sent home from the World Cup last summer after a fight with ex-boss Raymond Domenech and was later given an 18-match ban by the French FA.

He insists he has had nothing but trouble in France but that soccer fans there have a false impression of him, The Sun reports.