Paris, May 8 (AFP) Zinedine Zidane broke his silence on the French dual-nationality quota row to offer his support for beleaguered France coach Laurent Blanc, his former team-mate.
Blanc is under investigation after the release of a transcript of a meeting in which he and several other officials allegedly discussed introducing quotas for dual-nationality players at French youth training centres.
Several members of France's 1998 World Cup-winning squad have since spoken out about the affair but Zidane, the iconic star of that side, had until yesterday been conspicuous by his silence.
The son of Algerian parents, Zidane is uniquely placed to offer an insight on the controversy encircling Blanc and he told Sunday's edition of the L'Equipe sport daily that his former playing colleague should be left alone.
Asked if Blanc should step down as coach, Zidane replied: "Of course not.