Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 7y

French FA boss Noel Le Graet calls for revival of Algeria friendlies

French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet has told L'Equipe he wants to organise "regular" friendlies against Algeria.

Le Graet said the games would be appropriate given the historical ties between the countries.

But political and social tensions between France and Algeria -- a former colony with which France fought an eight-year war before it gained independence in 1962 -- remain.

And a maiden friendly between them at the Stade de France in October 2001 proved an embarrassment.

After the French national anthem was all but drowned out by whistles, the match was brought to a halt by a pitch invasion 14 minutes from time.

But Le Graet said he wanted to see the two nations play each other again with the Algerian capital, Algiers, his preferred venue.

"The two federation presidents want it, but the Algerian state needs to agree to it," the FFF boss said.

"It's unbelievable that we can't organise regular matches against Algeria given our historical ties. It's the only country in the world with which we can't do that.

"We play against [former colonies] Morocco and Tunisia, and we've been playing against Germany with pleasure for a long time. For me, as soon as there is an opening, we have to go there."

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