West Bromwich Albion's Nicolas Anelka controls the ball during their English Premier League soccer match against Everton at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. West Bromwich Albion is losing its main sponsor in the fallout from Nicolas Anelka celebrating a Premier League goal with a gesture considered to be anti-Semitic (AP Photo/PA, David Davies) UNITED KINGDOM OUT
January 21, 2014 - 1:10 AM
LONDON - The English Football Association has charged West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka for a racially aggravated gesture considered to be anti-Semitic while celebrating a Premier League goal.
The former France international, who faces a minimum five-game ban under the FA's anti-discrimination sanctions, has until 1800 GMT Thursday to response to the charge.
The gesture which is known in France as a "quenelle" was performed by Anelka in the Dec. 28 game against West Ham.
It involves pointing one straightened arm downward while touching the shoulder with the opposite hand, and was popularized by a French comic whose performances are considered anti-Semitic.
Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala denies anti-Semitism claims, but he has been convicted more than a half-dozen times for inciting racial hatred or anti-Semitism over the years.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014