Donetsk: Where there was controversy in France's Euro 2012 campaign, which ended with a one-sided quarter-final defeat by Spain on Saturday, Samir Nasri was never far away.

The midfielder lost his temper with a reporter as he walked through the mixed zone after the 2-0 loss to Spain.

After rudely declining to comment on the game, he snapped when told to "Get lost" by the journalist and launched a tirade of abuse that left seasoned onlookers open-mouthed.

"Go fxxx yourself, go fxxx your mother, you son of a bitch. You want us to have it out, go fxxx yourself. There, like that you can now write that I am badly brought up," he said before leaving the mixed zone.

The French press was quick to draw comparisons with the incident at the 2010 World Cup that saw Nicolas Anelka excluded from the France squad after insulting coach Raymond Domenech.

French coach Laurent Blanc slammed Nasri for the foul-mouthed rant.

"It is very regrettable but it's a problem between Samir and the press. It is very, very bad for his image but when this is done when he's with France it's also bad for the team's image," Blanc told French TV station TF1 on Sunday.

Blanc defends cautious tactics
Blanc pointed to Xabi Alonso's early goal as the key moment in his side's 2-0 loss to Spain in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals, but stood by his tactical choices.

Blanc unexpectedly introduced a fresh tactical formula in a bid to stifle Spain at Donetsk's Donbass Arena on Saturday, with a five-man midfield deployed in a bid to stifle the reigning world and European champions.

Mathieu Debuchy lined up ahead of right-back Anthony Reveillere in an unfamiliar right-wing role, as Blanc sought to nullify the influence of Jordi Alba and Andres Iniesta on the Spanish left.

However, it was from that side of the pitch that Spain broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, with Iniesta freeing Alba to cross for Xabi Alonso to head home.