Roger Lemerre has been sacked as coach of French national side, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) has announced.
“Roger Lemerre has been relieved of his duties as coach by the Federal Council of the FFF,” Claude Simonet told reporters.
“He will remain with the National Technical Directorship (DTN) as he has an open ended contract whereas his one as coach of the French team was limited to two years (till 2004).”
After paying tribute to his efforts as French coach we then told him to step down so he could take on other challenges,” he added.
Simonet added that a successor would be named as quickly as possible.
“We will consult with many people including the clubs themselves.
“I would guess we would reach a decision pretty rapidly,”he said.
The 61-year-old Lemerre, who led France to the EURO 2000 title, refused to resign in the wake of France’s dismal World Cup performance, which saw them eliminated at the first round stage having not scored a goal in their three group matches.
