Diacre details poor relationship with Lyon players before dismissal at France

Former France national team manager Corinne Diacre was interviewed by police last March as part of the police investigation into the attack suffered by Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Kheira Hamraoui in 2021, with the hearing notably highlighting her troubled relationships with her players, as reported by L’Équipe.

Specifically, investigators were interested in whether she had been put “under pressure” amid the player revolt that led to her departure. L’Équipe indicate that Diacre has denied having been pressured, but recognised that she was indeed in contact from 2020 with César Mavacala, the advisor of Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, who previously worked wit Aminata Diallo, and who was recently charged with extortion. The latter case is separate from the Diallo-Hamraoui affair and revolves around allegations of extortion used to obtain contract extensions for PSG players.

Diacre told investigators that Mavacala had sent her messages of support in the wake of what she saw as an “offensive” on the part of the Lyon players in the France squad against her, in the wake of the 2019 World Cup. For the former Clermont manager, the internationals from Lyon “were out to get me”.

She went on to explain that anonymous messages with voice recordings – ostensibly of Hamraoui criticising her – were sent to her after she had been telling her squad that the former Barcelona midfielder was “the victim” following the attack. L’Équipe add that the investigators believe that these messages show someone was trying to hurt Hamraoui’s chances of being in the French team. Diacre would go on to point out that there was indeed competition between Diallo and Hamraoui for a place in the squad, and that she had called up Diallo again simply because she was already in the Paris area.

When asked about whether Mavacala could have been behind the player revolt that led to her departure as France manager, Diacre said that the scenario was a “possibility“, but also pointed out that she had poor relations with Lyon and club president Jean-Michel Aulas, and she had no idea direct links.

Having previously been contacted by L’Équipe, Mavacala’s lawyer has insisted that his client has had nothing to do with the affair, and that he always acted in the best interests of his clients, and did not use threats.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin