France's World Cup woes continue
Thursday, 15 July 2010
TUNIS, July 14 (Xinhua): No sooner had "Les Bleus" finished licking their wounds, than another episode of their fateful World Cup saga caught up with the team's defender and former 1998 World Cup winner, William Gallas.
Gallas sparked the anger of Tunisian dentists when he refused to be treated by a Tunisian doctor for a toothache during a World Cup training camp in Sousse in May, after France played Tunisia in a goalless friendly.
Instead, Gallas requested that his own French dentist be flown in from France in a private jet at a cost of 25,000 euros (some 47,000 Tunisian dinars), making it one of the most expensive dentistry bills ever.
The news was reported by the Tunisian Arabic language weekly "Al Ousboui" in this week's edition. Adding insult to injury, Gallas later issued a statement on the internet saying that he refused to be cured by a Tunisian physician.
In a statement to the Tunisian weekly, the chairman of the Tunisian dentistry union, Adel Ben Smida, said that the union will soon launch a legal proceeding against the French player for allegedly denting the reputation of Tunisian dentists.
"We are determined to give a lesson to this player and whoever questions the professionalism of Tunisian doctors," said Ben Smida, adding that if Gallas is perfectly entitled to be cured by his own doctor, he has "no right to challenge the competence of Tunisian dentists on the internet."
Under the impulse of Tunisian authorities, medical tourism is witnessing a significant growth in the country, attracting thousands of European clients lured by the relatively low cost of aesthetic surgery, dental implants and the professionalism of Tunisian surgeons.
Gallas sparked the anger of Tunisian dentists when he refused to be treated by a Tunisian doctor for a toothache during a World Cup training camp in Sousse in May, after France played Tunisia in a goalless friendly.
Instead, Gallas requested that his own French dentist be flown in from France in a private jet at a cost of 25,000 euros (some 47,000 Tunisian dinars), making it one of the most expensive dentistry bills ever.
The news was reported by the Tunisian Arabic language weekly "Al Ousboui" in this week's edition. Adding insult to injury, Gallas later issued a statement on the internet saying that he refused to be cured by a Tunisian physician.
In a statement to the Tunisian weekly, the chairman of the Tunisian dentistry union, Adel Ben Smida, said that the union will soon launch a legal proceeding against the French player for allegedly denting the reputation of Tunisian dentists.
"We are determined to give a lesson to this player and whoever questions the professionalism of Tunisian doctors," said Ben Smida, adding that if Gallas is perfectly entitled to be cured by his own doctor, he has "no right to challenge the competence of Tunisian dentists on the internet."
Under the impulse of Tunisian authorities, medical tourism is witnessing a significant growth in the country, attracting thousands of European clients lured by the relatively low cost of aesthetic surgery, dental implants and the professionalism of Tunisian surgeons.