Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has expressed sympathy for team-mate Didier Drogba who was given a three-match ban by the Football Association after admitting a charge of violent conduct.
The suspension was imposed this Tuesday following the incident in Chelsea's Carling Cup fourth-round defeat to Burnley the previous week, which saw Drogba throw a coin back into the crowd after scoring.
Drogba apologised to Burnley fans in an effort to end the controversy, but former Fenerbahce striker Anelka feels the incident should not have been taken that seriously.
"In England and at Chelsea more precisely, what has made the headlines is the Drogba affair," the France striker wrote in his weekly column for website www.lesdessousdusport.fr.
"Didier threw back a coin that supporters had chucked at him. It's not something serious. It's a gesture like any other."
"In Turkey, during derbies, I had batteries and other things thrown at my head - I never responded. But sometimes it's hard to keep your nerves."
Anelka was in action midweek for his country in a dull goaless draw at home to Uruguay.
Both countries appeared to be going through the motions in the friendly international, with neither goalkeeper seriously tested, and Anelka admits the players were as bored as the fans.
"If the supporters were bored during the France-Uruguay match, you should know that the players were too," he continued. "You have to understand the players."
"We are tired, there are numerous club fixtures. And France-Uruguay, it was really a friendly match. We had to do it, we did it, that's business."
"But on the other hand, we wouldn't be happy with joining up with the squad for a training session but no match."
"For this game, my Chelsea team-mate, Florent Malouda, wasn't selected."
"He had a good beginning of the season, but these are the coach's choices. He's obliged to accept it."
"Life continues, he has only missed a friendly."