 Donetsk: Samir Nasri`s outburst after scoring Monday at the European Championship was aimed at a French journalist who questioned his form the day before.
When Nasri scored late in the first half in the 1-1 draw against England, he ran away in celebration and shouted "Shut your mouth`` in French. He then brought his finger to his lips as if to tell someone to hush.
The target was a journalist working for sports daily L`Equipe, who on Sunday wrote an article questioning whether the midfielder would show his best form after some below-par performances recently.
Nasri said the journalist asked for an explanation after the game.
"He asked me who it was aimed at, and I said it was for him,`` Nasri said.
After Nasri had been held up by a doping test, he walked past waiting reporters without answering any more questions. One journalist told him they had been waiting for two hours, and a clearly irritated Nasri replied "I didn`t ask to you wait.``
Nasri`s place in the team was reportedly under threat after he failed to shine in recent friendly games. But the Manchester City forward, who was overlooked by former coach Raymond Domenech for the 2010 World Cup, scored his fourth goal in 32 international appearances on Monday.
France coach Laurent Blanc played down the incident.
"These are individual and personal reactions. They are always something we don`t always expect,`` Blanc said. "He was happy to have scored a good goal.``
Agencies
First Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 13:18
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