Amid speculation linking Luca Zidane, the son of France legend Zinedine Zidane, with a call-up to the Algeria national team, Desert Foxes manager Djamel Belmadi has cleared the air on the situation.
Earlier in the month, SC Freiburg midfielder Jonathan Schmid told France Football that he had been approached by Belmadi to represent the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions rather than his country of birth.
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Schmid's revelation echoed similar comments previously made by goalkeeper Zidane, but, in a joint statement released on Sunday, the Algerian Football Federation (AFF) and Belmadi denied that these conversations took place.
"The Algerian Football Association and coach Djamel Belmadi categorically deny having had any contact with Jonathan Schmid and Luca Zidane," the AFF statement read.
Belmadi added: "Schmid spoke to France Football about this and was reported by several media outlets. Maybe he was contacted by someone impersonating me. I have never spoken to this player, either directly or indirectly. I refute this news and the same goes for Luca Zidane."
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Both Zidane, who is currently on loan at Racing Santander from Real Madrid, and Schmid were born in France but are eligible to represent Algeria through their families' origins.
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