HAMBURG, Germany, May 7, 2011 (AFP) - French winger Franck Ribery on Saturday gave his support to under-fire France coach Laurent Blanc as a controversial race row threatens his tenure in charge of Les Bleus.
Blanc is under investigation after the release of a transcript of a meeting last November in which Blanc took part in a discussion about the introduction of a quota on dual-nationality players at French youth training centres.
"It is difficult for the coach and I wanted to tell him I'm with him, as are all the players in the France team," Ribery told AFP after scoring twice in Bayern's 8-1 rout of St Pauli in the German league.
"What I am saying is that he must stand tall.
"He has done good things since his arrival, he has restored the confidence of the France team. I hope that he will stay."
Blanc took over as France coach after the debacle of their 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa and his team are currently top of their Euro 2012 qualifying group.
Having played under Blanc's leadership, Ribery insists the national coach is not a racist.
"I did not get the impression that he is a racist, quite the contrary," Ribery insisted.
Ribery will sit out Bayern's final league game of the season against Stuttgart next weekend after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against St Pauli.
