Hatem Ben Arfa and Samir Nasri were among the players involved in an alleged bust-up in France’s dressing room following their defeat to Sweden.

Newcastle star Ben Arfa reportedly told France boss Laurent Blanc to send him home after he was substituted in the Sweden game. He angered Blanc when the team returned to the dressing room to find him chatting on the phone to his family.

The 25-year-old told Blanc he should not have been subbed because there were players “who were worse” than him. That prompted Samir Nasri to get involved in the row.

The Manchester City midfielder then fell out with Alou Diarra over the Marseille man’s comment that many players’ performances were so poor that they were “not normal”.

Chelsea’s Florent Malouda told the French media that the scene reminded him of the squad’s 2010 World Cup meltdown.

He said: “What I saw awakened some demons in me.”

Hardly the perfect preparations to take on world champions Spain in the quarter-finals. Lots of hugging and hand-holding will be needed before Saturday evening.

Image: Bonnaf