The French Football Federation has fired the head coach of the women’s national football team, Corinne Diacre.
Corinne Diacre started as the head coach of the French national team in 2017. Diacre guided France to the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup and to the European Championship bronze medal last summer. In the Fifa ranking, France is fifth.
Despite the budding success, Diacre has already been at odds with numerous national team players for years.
Diacre pounced on France’s all-time top scorer Eugenie Le Sommer publicly at the 2019 World Cup and dropped him from the 2021 national team.
Already in 2017, Diacre took the captain’s armband away from the long-term skipper, the Lyon star From Wendie Renard. Renard later opened up about the incident in his book and claimed, among other things, that Diacre did not agree to shake his hand at national team camps.
Next summer, the World Cup will be played in Australia and New Zealand. Many of France’s star players – at least Renard, Sarah Bouhaddi, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani – had announced that they will not be seen at the games if Diacre is in trouble. Midfield star player Amandine Henry has been absent from the national team since 2020.
– I am far from perfect, but I can no longer support the current system, which is far from top-level requirements. Today is a sad day, but I want to protect my sanity, one of the best defenders in the world, Renard of 142 caps wrote.
– I am France’s biggest fan and if the necessary changes are made, I will return to the team, Diani said.
Yesterday, Diacre commented that he had been the victim of a “disgraceful media outburst” and that he was “fully committed to doing his job at the World Cup”. Diacre’s goal was to coach France also in the summer 2024 home Olympics in Paris.
The pressure of the players and the threats caused by the absences with the World Cup in mind finally caused the French federation to react.
The union announced on Thursday that the disagreements with the experienced players had reached a point of no return.
– The French Football Federation acknowledges the remarkable work of Diacre and his staff, but the problems seem to be irreversible.
The French federation has also been in crisis, as the 81-year-old who served as chairman for 11 years Noël Le Graët resigned in February following allegations of sexual harassment. The French government conducted an audit of the union and found that Le Graët could not continue due to his behavior towards women, his public comments and the union’s administrative shortcomings.
Football World Cup in Australia and New Zealand 20 July–20 August 2023. shows the races on its channels.