France coach Corinne Diacre vows to stay on despite ‘smear campaign’
The France coach, Corinne Diacre, has been shocked by the “violence” and “dishonesty” of what she sees as an attempt to destabilise her after reports that she will be replaced before the Women’s World Cup.
Last month, the France captain, Wendie Renard, said she will not play in the tournament because she is unhappy with the team’s setup. After Renard’s decision, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani also said they were putting their international careers on hold.
Renard did not go further into detail, but there have been tension within the France squad for years between the players and Diacre. Diani said she would return to the national team only if significant changes are made.
Diacre said she is determined to remain in charge and to “bring honour to France during the next World Cup”. She added: “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.”
The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be played from 20 July in Australia and New Zealand. After taking charge in 2017, Diacre stripped Renard of the captaincy but reinstated her in 2021.
“My detractors have not hesitated to attack my personal and professional integrity without bothering with the truth,” Diacre said. “I will not let myself be affected by this destabilisation operation, which does not take into account my sporting record, and whose only objective is a personal settling of scores.”
According to reports, Diacre’s future with the team could be decided on Thursday during a meeting at the French fooball federation. Diacre said she has been heard by a commission from the federation and thanked its members for allowing her “to dispel the lies that were asserted without contradiction”.
She also thanked the Lyon president, Jean-Michel Aulas, who had urged the federation’s executive committee to listen to the players. Aulas is a member of the committee. Diacre said Aulas assured her he was “ready to go back on his public remarks by considering the situation with objectivity and impartiality”.
“In view of the shameful media outburst of the last few days, I nevertheless wish to reaffirm publicly what I told the commission,” Diacre said. “That I am fully committed to carry out my mission and to do France proud during the next World Cup.”