Sagna laments avoidable infighting

France had arrived in Poland and Ukraine on the back of a long unbeaten run but meekly exited the tournament following a 2-0 quarter-final defeat to Spain.

Following the loss reports of unrest in Laurent Blanc's squad intensified, with reports in France suggesting the national association will meet to mete out punishments.

Manchester City's Samir Nasri has been at the centre of the controversies with L'Equipe reporting the midfielder could be banned for two years after he was alleged to have confronted a journalist.

Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa was also reported to have clashed with Blanc after the 2-0 defeat to Sweden, while Arsenal target Yann M'Vila and Jeremy Menez have also been embroiled.

The unsavoury claims have brought back memories of France's disastrous 2010 FIFA World Cup, when Les Bleus crashed out at the group stage after the players refused to train following the expulsion of Nicolas Anelka.

"It's a shame. We had the potential to go further," said Sagna, who did not travel to Euro 2012 after breaking his leg with Arsenal in May.

"People would take me for a madman for saying that, but I saw a team that could go to the final. I had faith in them."

"I was especially annoyed to hear the stories going around. That's regrettable - in the end it gives a bad image of us, the team. It's a waste of a competition. Everything was avoidable."

"It's a shame that this never leaves the team alone."

Sagna refused to condemn his former Arsenal team-mate Nasri, who he did admit "speaks his mind", after the midfielder had been at the centre of media criticism before the alleged incident.

"This is a sensitive issue and I was not there but I know when something does not please Samir he speaks his mind," Sagna, who was part of the last World cup squad, told L'Equipe.

"He can have a violent reaction but you have to share your responsibilities. When someone attacks the press it will not go away."

"With the excitement of the game and everything that was written about him it was perhaps not the right time to respond. He should have kept his cool but it weighed on him."

"The Euros had not even started and the press had already criticised him. Everyone is human."

Blanc was drafted in to replace Raymond Domenech following France's inglorious World Cup exit and had seemingly turned fortunes around.

The former World Cup and European Championship winner's future at France's helm has now been left in doubt though, with his contract set to expire soon, but Sagna thinks he should remain.

"Everyone is in agreement when they say that he did a good job," he said.

"What we need is more games together to create a real team atmosphere."

"We need to ignore what is being said and create our own bubble to concentrate on football and ourselves."