Soccer

Corinne Diacre sacked as France women’s coach after players quit squad

Diacre has said she was victim of ‘smear campaign’ as federation refers to irreversible problems

Corinne Diacre, whose contract as head coach of France has been terminated following an "irreversible" breakdown in relations with some of her senior players. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Corinne Diacre, whose contract as head coach of France has been terminated following an "irreversible" breakdown in relations with some of her senior players. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Suzanne Wrack
Thu Mar 09 2023 - 14:51

Corinne Diacre has been sacked as head coach of the France women’s national team because of what the French Football Federation (FFF) described as “a very significant divide” with the players that has “reached the point of no return”.

Diacre’s tenure has been fraught and the tipping point came when the captain Wendie Renard announced she would not play for the team to protect her mental health, saying she could “no longer support the current system”, and Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto followed suit.

A four-person panel commissioned by the federation’s president, Philippe Diallo, to investigate claims about the culture in the team concluded that “the malfunctions observed seem, in this context, irreversible”. A statement said: “In view of these elements, it was decided to put an end to the mission of Corinne Diacre at the head of the French women’s team.”

Diacre had issued a statement on Wednesday expressing determination to stay and said: “I endured, not without great suffering, the display of slander, untruths and ambitions of some and others ... I have been the subject of a smear campaign that is astonishing in its violence and dishonesty.”

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Alleged problems between the manager and senior players have been widely reported in recent years. Diacre’s coaching methods and some of her public criticisms of players and selection decisions proved unpopular with certain individuals.

Renard, Lyon’s captain, was stripped of the France captaincy by Diacre in 2017 after the quarter-final exit from the Euros but was given it back in 2021.

Diacre omitted Katoto from her squad for the 2019 World Cup, despite the forward finishing as the Ligue 1 top scorer, and left out Amandine Henry and Eugénie Le Sommer from the squad for the 2022 Euros in England after public fallings-out with the Lyon pair. In July 2020 the goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi announced she was stepping back from international football while Diacre was in charge.

The FFF executive committee statement said the panel has been charged with finding a replacement for Diacre. It added a criticism of the players, stating that “the way used by the players to express their criticisms was no longer acceptable in the future”. – Guardian