Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor on Sunday gave her support to her defender and captain Wendie Renard, "legitimate" and "courageous" to denounce the management of the women's France team and the development of women's football in France.

"Wendie is legitimate because she is a professional, a competitor, attached to the blue jersey. It's a very difficult decision for her to make. She was very brave. It's been a while since it was hard to bear," Bompastor said after OL's 3-0 win over Bordeaux in the league of France of which Lyon is leader.

"We have to make sure we listen to the players"

By announcing her retirement from Les Bleues five months before the World Cup, "Wendie is getting into trouble. But it does it for the collective good and the team of France," she added.

"We have to make sure we listen to the players. Since the 2019 World Cup (defeat in the quarterfinals of Les Bleues), we have not been able to ride the right wave. A lot of things should have been solved before Wendie's rant. Others have already spoken, "recalled the technician, without naming the coach Corinne Diacre, whose management is targeted by Renard, as well as by Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who have also put their international careers on hold.

Sonia Bompastor also evokes "points of dissatisfaction on the championship". "Last year, OL's victory in the Champions League was the tree that hid the forest. For a while, I have been warning about the competition that is being organized in Spain, Italy or England. At some point, we will not be able to keep up. We need a collective response, clubs, federation and together," she continued.

The players "don't want to waste any more time. There is still some to see how to organize in order to be a strong nation at the World Cup, "she concluded, estimating the tricolor generation capable of "competing to go for a title".

Patrice Lair not tender with the management of Deacon

For his part, Bordeaux coach Patrice Lair, who has managed Lyon and Paris SG, shared Bompastor's observation. "We are no longer moving forward. OL have done their job by winning a lot of trophies but we need to be more ambitious in terms of selection. I understand their reaction because they want to win," he explained, without sparing the management of Deacon.

"There are egos, big personalities but in this job of coach it is complicated if we are not able to manage this," stings the technician, already evoking the hypothesis of a future in selection.

"I've been told about it for ten years. It never happened. I'm coming to the end of my contract with Bordeaux where I want to continue because we're progressing. But, if you are offered the job, it is difficult to refuse. But there are people who are there to make decisions," he said, two days before an executive committee of the Federation that must look into the issue. "But I only want one thing: that the France team wins."

  • Football
  • Women's football
  • Blue
  • Women's France Team
  • Wendie Renard
  • Corinne Deacon
  • Sport