Raymond Domenech was confirmed as France coach Friday and will lead
his team at next year's World Cup in South Africa, French
federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said.
Earlier this week, a member of the federation's governing
body, Guy Chambily, had called for Domenech to leave in order to
"stop the bloodshed."
"It would not have been very professional to put somebody
else in charge of the France team," Escalettes said. "It would have
been difficult for the players to accept that. They would have felt
betrayed."
Escalettes added that federation members were asked about the
possibility of dismissing Domenech but none except Chambily wanted
to debate the matter.
Domenech has been harshly criticized for France's poor
results during its qualifying campaign. France booked its place at
the World Cup through the playoffs with a controversial 2-1 win
over Ireland.
After its 1-0 win in Dublin, France secured a 1-1 draw at the
Stade de France thanks to Barcelona striker Thierry Henry's
handball in the build-up to William Gallas' equalizer.
Domenech was appointed in 2004 and guided France to the World
Cup final in 2006 only for it to crash out in the first round of
the European championships two years later.
Escalettes said that France will set up its World Cup
training camp in Tunisia. Following a friendly against Costa Rica
on May 25 at the Stade de France, the French players will travel to
the town of Sousse and will play Tunisia in Rades on May 30.
France will then fly to Reunion island in the Indian Ocean to
face China in June. France will start its World Cup campaign
against Uruguay on June 11.
