PARIS – Corinne Diacre has been sacked as coach of the France women’s football team just months before the July 20-Aug 20 World Cup, after her position was weakened following a revolt by leading players.

The 48-year-old was under contract until 2024 but came under serious pressure after captain Wendie Renard announced in February she would no longer play for the team, with fellow stars Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto following suit.

The announcement by the French Football Federation (FFF) on Thursday comes with just four months to go before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where a France side ranked fifth in the world will hope to go far.

The French federation – itself in crisis following the recent resignation of its scandal-hit president Noel le Graet – said its own investigation had exposed “a major fracture with senior players” which had “reached a point of no return”.

“The FFF acknowledges the implication and the seriousness with which Corinne Diacre and her staff have done their job, but it seems the problems are, in this context, irreversible,” it added.

“In view of this, it has been decided to bring an end to Corinne Diacre’s job at the head of the France women’s team.”

Lyon defender Renard, who has 142 caps and is widely considered as one of the best players in the world, exposed that fracture when the 32-year-old announced in February that she would not go to the World Cup.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Diani also did the same along with her clubmate Katoto.

“We have reached a point of no going back. The girls just can’t cope with it any more,” Diani told broadcaster TF1 last weekend. They could return to the fold, now that Diacre has been sacked.

Diacre had told AFP on Wednesday that she had been the victim of a “smear campaign” and that she was determined to carry out her job.

But she has been a divisive figure as France coach, from the moment she stripped Renard of the captaincy early in her reign.

Another Lyon star, midfielder Amandine Henry, skippered the team at the 2019 World Cup but has been out of the picture since late 2020 and also fell out with the coach.

No new coach has been appointed, with France due to play home friendly matches against Colombia and Olympic champions Canada in April.

The FFF said that its interim president, Philippe Diallo, had asked a committee to speak to potential candidates “as soon as possible”. AFP