“There was a very well-developed plan, I had to have my head,” denounces Corinne Diacre a year after her ouster from the position of coach of the Bleues

Dismissed shortly before the 2023 World Cup, the former coach of the French women’s team pointed out the influence of certain players, but also that of Jean-Michel Aulas, to justify her sidelining in the columns of L’Equipe, Wednesday.

Corinne Deacon comes out of the silence. In an interview given to The Team [article payant]Wednesday March 6, the former Blue coach spoke for the first time since her ouster. “Beyond the animosity around me, there was a very well-developed plan. Basically, you had to have my head”says the 49-year-old technician, replaced in March 2023 by Hervé Renard, considering having been let go by several executives including captain Wendie Renard.

The central defender of Olympique Lyonnais had withdrawn from the selection and had blamed Diacre. Paris SG attackers Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani followed suit. “As (Renard) is the captain, we listened to her. In fact, it was her word against mine. But as she had support in the Federation, and I didn’t…”says Deacon who thinks that his positioning in the Kheira Hamraoui affair was also fatal to him.

“At one point, I took a stand for the one who was attacked. Other players didn’t like it. When it came to rallying the cause of their captain, some joined in”continued the ex-coach, who had decided to recall Kheira Hamraoui to the French team in February 2023. She had frosty relations in her club PSG with Katoto and Diani, close to Aminata Diallo, accused of having ordered the attack on Hamraoui in November 2021.

Tensions with Jean-Michel Aulas

Corinne Diacre also points out the role played in her ouster by Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of OL and head of women’s football at the Federation. “He had a lot more power when Noël Le Graët resigned [de son poste de président de la FFF, le 28 février 2023]. It all starts from there.” she says.

“From the start, because I did not do what he would have wanted, what he expected regarding the players of his club. I managed the France team. A national selection is made up of elements came from several clubs. Even if there are very good players in this club, there are also some elsewhere.” does she justify herself in the face of what she identifies as pressure from Aulas to increase the number of Lyonnaises in the selection.

The former Blue coach also recounts her suffering in the face of “personal attacks linked to facial appearance”. “A man has the right to make a face, to harangue his players, a woman no. Corinne Diacre, no. I am focused. If I wasn’t, I would be blamed”lamented the one who hopes to return to service, “if possible abroad”.