A desperate attempt to save his position before the ax? Dropped by several players and close to eviction, Corinne Deacon came out of silence on Wednesday March 8. The coach refuses to let go, on the eve of a decisive meeting on his future at the French Football Federation and four and a half months from the World Cup
The executive committee of the FFF meets Thursday at 9:30 a.m., with on the agenda the situation of the French women’s team, plunged into a historic crisis since the withdrawal of Wendie Renard, Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the three emblematic players of the workforce.
Main target of this sling, Deacon may be living his last days at the head of the Blue, so much the pressure is strong around the methods and of the management put in place since his arrival in 2017.
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“I am fully determined to carry out my mission successfully”
But the 48-year-old coach, who has remained silent since the announcements of her players, does not intend to leave her post and made it known on Wednesday, in a press release sent to AFP by her lawyer, Christophe Ayela.
“In view of the shameful media outburst of recent days, I nevertheless wish to publicly reaffirm (…) that I am fully determined to carry out my mission and, above all, to bring honor to France at the next World Cup. “This summer in Australia (July 20 – August 20), says the boss of Les Bleues.
Under contract until the summer of 2024, the former coach of Clermont, in Ligue 2, denounces “a destabilization operation” and “a smear campaign which astounds with its violence and dishonesty”. “My critics do not hesitate – without embarrassing themselves with the truth – to attack my personal and professional integrity”, she explains in the press release.
The message is clear for the FFF and its interim president Philippe Diallo: the former defender will not resign.
Thursday morning, the federation therefore faces its first major decision since the resignation, announced last Tuesday, of ex-president Noël Le Graët. The “Comex”, where Deacon is not invited, will first hear the recommendations of a special commission set up eight days ago to “draw up an assessment of the current situation”. Four members of the “government” of the FFF make it up – Jean-Michel Aulas, Laura Georges, Aline Riera and Marc Keller. They have conducted auditions in recent days, in particular soliciting several players from the selection.
“We will take our responsibilities”
Auditioned Tuesday for nearly two hours according to her lawyer, Deacon convinced her interlocutors? In recent days, all federal sources interviewed were in favor of an eviction.
This hypothesis also seemed reinforced by the words of Jean-Michel Aulas, president of OL and close to Wendie Renard, who no longer concealed his wish to see Deacon leave.
“From the moment people express themselves in a balanced way, with arguments, we have to listen to them. We will take our responsibilities”, had advanced the leader following the last Comex.
But Deacon said in his statement on Wednesday that Aulas had “assured him that he was ready to reconsider his public remarks by now considering the situation with objectivity and impartiality”.
The situation seems in any case insoluble: a dismissal might give the impression that the players have the power, while a retention would force France to play a World Cup without its three main assets.
In addition, the statutes of the FFF do not specify who of the executive committee or the president has the power to appoint or dismiss the coaches of the French teams. Noël Le Gräet was not bothered by it: he had managed the extension of Deacon alone until the 2024 Olympics, last summer.
The hypothesis of a dismissal of Deacon would open the quest for a successor at the head of the Blue. Several profiles stand out: the names of Gérard Prêcheur (PSG), Sonia Bompastor (Lyon), Sandrine Soubeyrand (Paris FC), Eric Blahic (ex-assistant of Deacon) or even Herve Renardthe current coach of Saudi Arabia, have been mentioned internally or by the press in recent days.
With AFP