Gallas raises heat in war of words

LONDON – William Gallas is promising to lift the lid on his real reasons for leaving Chelsea after hitting out at claims he threatened to score an own goal as part of a campaign to force the English champions to let him move.

Gallas, 29, signed for Arsenal last week as part of the deal that saw England defender Ashley Cole moving in the opposite direction across London. The aftermath of the move has become poisonous after Chelsea went public with claims that the French defender had refused to play in one match and then warned that he would score an own goal in another one.But Gallas insisted that the Chelsea allegations were pure fantasy, and claimed he would soon be telling the full story as to why he wanted out of Stamford Bridge.”I am surprised and shocked by these claims,” Gallas told AFP during a break from training with the France squad for Wednesday’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy.”I never said that I would score own goals if I had to play for Chelsea again.I was firm about my wanting to leave, that is true, and I will explain in due time why I wanted to.But I never went that far.”But if people want to hide behind false accusations in order to give a reason for why I left so they can calm down the club’s supporters then they can.”And France coach Raymond Domenech said at their Clairefontaine training base to the south of Paris: “To think that Gallas would betray his teammates is scandalous.”Gallas, who played 225 matches for Chelsea, was regarded by many Blues fans as the club’s best defender and statistics suggest that he and John Terry formed their most effective centreback pairing.Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho however tended to opt for his Portuguese compatriot Ricardo Carvalho alongside Terry with Gallas frequently played out of position at left-back, a situation which fuelled his desire to leave.The issue came to a head in early August when Gallas failed to return from his summer break in time for a club tour of the United States.Mourinho reacted by stripping the Frenchman of his number 13 shirt and handing it to new signing Michael Ballack.Chelsea claimed on Monday that Gallas had refused to play against Liverpool in last season’s FA Cup semi-final and had warned that, if selected to play against Manchester City in the first game of this season, he would score an own goal, get sent off or make deliberate mistakes.A club statement said that Chelsea were simply attempting to ensure the fans were aware of the “the full facts regarding William Gallas and the lack of respect he showed to the fans, the manager and the club.”It went on to claim that Gallas had been motivated purely by greed, “hawking himself to the highest bidder,” before becoming “increasingly intransigent” over Chelsea’s refusal to meet his wage demands.Nampa-AFPThe aftermath of the move has become poisonous after Chelsea went public with claims that the French defender had refused to play in one match and then warned that he would score an own goal in another one.But Gallas insisted that the Chelsea allegations were pure fantasy, and claimed he would soon be telling the full story as to why he wanted out of Stamford Bridge.”I am surprised and shocked by these claims,” Gallas told AFP during a break from training with the France squad for Wednesday’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Italy.”I never said that I would score own goals if I had to play for Chelsea again.I was firm about my wanting to leave, that is true, and I will explain in due time why I wanted to.But I never went that far.”But if people want to hide behind false accusations in order to give a reason for why I left so they can calm down the club’s supporters then they can.”And France coach Raymond Domenech said at their Clairefontaine training base to the south of Paris: “To think that Gallas would betray his teammates is scandalous.”Gallas, who played 225 matches for Chelsea, was regarded by many Blues fans as the club’s best defender and statistics suggest that he and John Terry formed their most effective centreback pairing.Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho however tended to opt for his Portuguese compatriot Ricardo Carvalho alongside Terry with Gallas frequently played out of position at left-back, a situation which fuelled his desire to leave.The issue came to a head in early August when Gallas failed to return from his summer break in time for a club tour of the United States.Mourinho reacted by stripping the Frenchman of his number 13 shirt and handing it to new signing Michael Ballack.Chelsea claimed on Monday that Gallas had refused to play against Liverpool in last season’s FA Cup semi-final and had warned that, if selected to play against Manchester City in the first game of this season, he would score an own goal, get sent off or make deliberate mistakes.A club statement said that Chelsea were simply attempting to ensure the fans were aware of the “the full facts regarding William Gallas and the lack of respect he showed to the fans, the manager and the club.”It went on to claim that Gallas had been motivated purely by greed, “hawking himself to the highest bidder,” before becoming “increasingly intransigent” over Chelsea’s refusal to meet his wage demands.Nampa-AFP