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Fifa president Sepp Blatter has warned France it could be banned from international football if its government interferes in the running of the national side.

Blatter said he was sending a "clear and clean message" to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who criticised the team after its disastrous World Cup campaign.

Sarkozy has pledged to personally lead an investigation into what went wrong.

But Blatter insisted the governing body would oppose "political interference, even if it is at presidential level”.

Sarkozy called for change within the French Football Federation (FFF) after Nicolas Anelka was sent home following a clash with coach Raymond Domenech. That led the rest of the squad to boycott a training session in protest. Domenech then dropped several players, including captain Patrice Evra, for France’s must-win game against South Africa – a match they lost 2-1 to finish bottom of Group A with just one point.

Sarkozy asked his sports minister Roselyne Bachelot to speak to the players in South Africa and he has since held talks with Thierry Henry, while Jean-Pierre Escalettes has announced he is resigning as FFF president.

"In France they have made an 'affair d'etat' with football, but football remains in the hands of the federation," said Blatter.

"We will help the national association and if it cannot be solved by consultation, then the only thing we have is to suspend the federation.

"Definitely, I can tell you that political interference will be dealt with by Fifa notwithstanding what kind of interference and what is the size of the country."

Fifa rules demand that national federations manage their affairs independently or face suspension from international football.