The Federation has decided. Corinne Deacon must leave her position as coach of the France team. Weakened by the mutiny of its captain, Wendie Renard, four and a half months from the World Cup, the Federation announced its decision after a meeting of its executive committee.
The 48-year-old coach, who arrived at the helm of the France team in 2017, was under contract with the FFF until 2024 and the Paris Olympics. But she had been under pressure since the withdrawal of the selection of captain Wendie Renard and two other stars, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, who questioned, without naming her, her management methods.
This decision was taken after the submission of the conclusions of a commission commissioned by the interim president of the FFF Philippe Diallo "to draw up a report on the situation of the French women's team, following the various positions taken by several players,” according to the FFF.
“The numerous hearings carried out made it possible to establish the observation of a very significant divide with executive players and highlighted a discrepancy with the requirements of the very high level. This fracture has reached a point of no return which harms the interests of the selection, "said the federation in a press release.
"If the FFF recognizes the involvement and the seriousness of Corinne Deacon and her staff in the exercise of their mission, it appears that the malfunctions observed seem, in this context, irreversible. In view of these elements, it was decided to put an end to the mission of Corinne Deacon at the head of the French women's team, "she continued.
The crisis, long underground, burst into the open on February 24 with the announcement by Wendie Renard (142 selections) of her withdrawal from the France team, explaining that she could "no longer endorse the current system" too far, according to her, from the top level.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, stars of Les Bleues and Paris SG, engaged and tackled the "lack of professionalism" of the French coaching staff, without naming the coach directly. The Lyonnaises Griedge Mbock (injured) and Perle Morroni (not selected) also joined the sling.
"It's important to have something new, the girls simply can't take it anymore", even if "they don't necessarily express themselves", explained Diani on Téléfoot. "The French Federation must make arrangements, we have raised a cry of alarm. »
The case of Deacon was therefore invited to the agenda of the "Comex" of the Federation, barely recovered from the turbulence surrounding its ex-president Noël Le Graët. The fate of general manager Florence Hardouin, laid off since January, was also on the menu for discussion.
Silent at the height of the storm, Deacon finally stepped up to the plate on Wednesday, through a press release to Agence France-Presse (AFP) where she said she had "endured, not without feeling great suffering, the display calumnies, untruths and ambitions of each other". The former captain and defender of the Bleues (48), under contract until the summer of 2024, counter-attacked when her position appeared more fragile than ever.
She had expressed her determination "to carry out my mission and, above all, to honor France at the next World Cup" this summer in Australia and New Zealand (July 20-August 20), despite the " shameful media outburst of the past few days".
Anxious to tackle the problem head-on, the FFF has set up a special commission to "assess the current situation" in the France team, with Jean-Michel Aulas, Laura Georges, Aline Riera and Marc Keller, all Comex members. The quartet auditioned several players. Some "taulières", on the other hand, declined and others were not asked, we learned from those around them.
Deacon herself was able to speak for nearly two hours on Tuesday, according to her lawyer Christophe Ayela, who described to AFP a "constructive and concrete" exchange allowing the technician to come out "relieved and determined".
The dismissal of Deacon, in office since 2017, forces the FFF to find a successor within tight deadlines. The next match of Les Bleues, against Colombia in a friendly, is held in barely a month in Clermont-Ferrand. The FFF Comex has not yet chosen a successor to Corinne Deacon responsible for leading Les Bleues to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (July 20-August 20).
"Philippe Diallo asked the commission to audition, as soon as possible, the candidates for the post of coach and to formulate its recommendations", indicated the FFF. The name of Gérard Prêcheur, current coach of the women's PSG, comes up insistently. In recent hours, the former INF Clairefontaine trainer and ex-coach of OL Women (2014-2017) however assured that he had not been contacted by the FFF.
Other profiles stand out, such as those of Sonia Bompastor (Lyon), Sandrine Soubeyrand (Paris FC) and Éric Blahic (ex-deacon of Deacon).
