Benoit Assou-Ekotto is a professional footballer with Tottenham Hotspur FC and with Cameroon, for whom he played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Football Association charged Mr Assou-Ekotto with improper conduct in respect of a Tweet in which he congratulated Nicolas Anelka on this use of the quenelle gesture during the course of a televised Premier League match.
Following a contested hearing before an Independent Regulatory Commission, the charge was found proved in its aggravated form and Mr Assou-Ekotto was suspended for three matches and fined £50,000.
Paul Greaney QC acted on behalf of the Football Association together with Dario Giovannelli. They also acted together in the Anelka case and in the Surez/Evra case, both of which also concerned an aggravated breach of the relevant rule of the Football Association (Rule E.3(1)).