French comedian Dieudonne in Nicolas Anelka row banned from UK
A controversial French comedian at the centre of the Nicolas Anelka anti-semitism row has been banned from entering the UK, the Home Office said.
Dieudonne M'bala M'bala previously announced he would visit London to support the West Bromwich Albion star, who faces a ban for performing the comic's "quenelle" salute on the pitch, which is believed by some to be an anti-semitic gesture.
The Football Association (FA) charged Anelka over the pose, struck after scoring against West Ham on December 28, and he faces a minimum five-match ban if found guilty. Anelka has denied the charge and requested a personal hearing.
Was the Home Office right to ban Dieudonne from the UK? Vote in our poll and have your say in the comments below:
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Mr Dieudonne is subject to an exclusion order.
"The Home Secretary will seek to exclude an individual from the UK if she considers that there are public policy or public security reasons to do so."
Dieudonne, who has been prosecuted for inciting racial hatred through anti-Semitic jokes and comments, is credited with creating the quenelle, a hand and arm movement alleged by some to be a reverse Nazi salute.
The 47-year-old comedian, who has previously said the gesture is anti-establishment, had several shows banned in France last month amid fears his portrayal of Jews and mocking of the Holocaust were a risk to public order.
He rewrote the shows, dropping much of the material deemed offensive but fans and civil liberties campaigners hit out at the French government for attacking free speech and censorship.
Anelka has also previously said his salute, which he described as a ''dedication'' to Dieudonne, was aimed at the French establishment. The player has insisted he is not anti-Semitic or racist.
