Evra, Ribery back for France after bans

Defender Patrice Evra and midfielder Franck Ribery were called up Thursday by France for the first time since they were banned for their parts in a training ground strike at last year's World Cup.

Coach Laurent Blanc named Manchester United's Evra and Bayern Munich's Ribery in a 23-man squad for the Euro 2012 qualifier at Luxembourg on March 25 and a home friendly against Croatia four days later.

Evra, who was captain at the World Cup in South Africa, was given a five-match ban for his part in the revolt against former coach Raymond Domenech, while Ribery was banned for three matches by the French football federation.

   Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno, who earlier this year called any recall for the offenders "unacceptable", said there had been no apology from the players and she would "regret" their selection.

Evra was overlooked for last month's friendly match against Brazil with Blanc retaining Arsenal defender Gael Clichy and Barcelona's Eric Abidal.

Clichy remains as one of five Arsenal players in the squad. Abidal was due to have an operation on Thursday to remove a liver tumour.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille) Defenders: Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Adil Rami (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Paris Saint-Germain) Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Yoann Gourcuff (Lyon), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Florent Malouda (Chelsea) Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Kevin Gameiro (Lorient), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris Saint-Germain), Jeremy Menez (AS Roma), Loic Remy (Marseille), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)