LONDON — Yannick Sagbo, Hull City’s Ivorian striker, has been fined £15,000 ($25,200) over a social media posting about the controversial “quenelle” gesture, the Football Association announced on Tuesday.
In a statement on its website, the FA said Sagbo had admitted an “aggravated breach of FA Rule E3” and had also been “warned as to his future conduct and ordered to complete a compulsory education course.”
The statement added: “Mr. Sagbo was charged by The FA with improper conduct concerning social media postings relating to the quenelle gesture.”
Former West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka was banned for five games and fined £80,000 pounds after performing the gesture, which has anti-Semitic connotations, during a Premier League game in December.
Nicolas Anelka makes the quenelle gesture after his goal for West Bromwich Albion against West Ham United, December 28, 2013 (photo credit: YouTube screenshot)
The former France international was subsequently sacked by West Brom for “gross misconduct.”
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Sagbo posted a picture on Twitter of Anelka performing the quenelle alongside the word “legend,” and also referred to him as a role model for France’s urban youth.
After an independent regulatory commission publishes the written reasons for its decision to punish Sagbo, both he and the FA will have the right to appeal against the decision.
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