Anelka in 'Django Unchained' dig at Thuram

Paris (AFP) – Nicolas Anelka has launched a scathing attack on his fellow former France international Lilian Thuram by comparing him to Samuel L Jackson’s character in the violent Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained”.

On his public Facebook page, Anelka posted a photo of Thuram on top of one of Jackson playing the character Stephen in the 2012 film.

“Similar attitude…If u don’t understand watch django unchained Movie,” Anelka wrote.

In the film Jackson’s character is a house slave who, according to the Hollywood entertainment website Variety, “represents a form of toxic black-on-black rivalry still smouldering in American culture today”.

Anelka’s criticism comes after the airing of a documentary on French television called “Another History of France, 1996-2016”.

In the documentary Thuram, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, hits out at the French squad that famously staged a training ground mutiny during the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

“You must respect the shirt you are wearing, respect the history of that shirt,” Thuram said.

Anelka was sent home from the 2010 World Cup after reportedly insulting coach Raymond Domenech at half-time in a defeat to Mexico.

The French players refused to train in protest at their team-mate’s expulsion, but Les Bleus were promptly eliminated in the group stage anyway.