London - France's star striker Nicolas Anelka arrived back in London on Monday, an AFP photographer said, after being sent home from the Soccer World Cup following a foul-mouthed rant at coach Raymond Domenech.?

Anelka, who plays for English Premiership champions Chelsea, arrived back at London's Heathrow airport after flying back from the tournament in South Africa.

His departure has prompted mutiny within the French squad, with players refusing to train Sunday and issuing a statement saying they were opposed to the decision after details of the bust-up were published in sports daily L'Equipe.

"We regret the incident at half-time of the France v Mexico match, but we regret even more the divulging of an event which was only the squad's business and was part and parcel of the life of a top-level team," the players said.

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