France coach appeals against one-match ban

PARIS, Aug 28 (Reuters) France coach Raymond Domenech will appeal against his one-match ban for breaching UEFA's disciplinary regulations, the French Football Federation (FFF) said today.

Yesterday, Domenech was given a touchline ban for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy in Milan on Sept. 8 and fined 8,354 dollars for bringing the game into disrepute following inappropriate remarks made to a French newspaper.

In an interview with daily Le Parisien earlier this month, Domenech accused Italy of bribing the referee of an under-21 international between France and Italy during the qualifying competition for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

In an effort to have Domenech on the bench in Milan, the FFF asked UEFA to lift the ban until the ruling on the appeal.

''The FFF and Raymond Domenech are using all the resorts offered by UEFA's regulations and will do everything that can be done to make sure the national coach will effectively coach France on Sept. 8 in Milan,'' the FFF said in a statement after a meeting between its president, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, and Domenech.

After the interview was released, UEFA president Michel Platini said Domenech should provide evidence to back up his allegations or face sanctions.

In the interview, Domenech also praised Italy defender Marco Materazzi for provoking Zinedine Zidane into head-butting him in last year's World Cup final. Zidane was sent off and France lost on penalties.

Domenech also told Le Parisien he had doubts about the officiating of the upcoming qualifier between the two rivals.

''I'm not the one who invented the stories about refereeing in Italy,'' Domenech said. ''Some matches have been fixed.'' Italy's 2006 match-fixing scandal, which led to Juventus being demoted and four clubs having points deducted, centred on teams trying to secure favourable referees for league matches.

Escalettes had stepped in to try to defuse the row, telephoning his Italian counterpart Giancarlo Abete to make clear the comments made by the France coach were Domenech's personal views.

REUTERS BJR HS1851