Guillotine falls on president Escalettes for French farce

FRENCH Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes has shouldered the blame for a disastrous World Cup campaign after confirming he will resign from his post.

It follows the team’s exit at the group stage in South Africa with just one point and one goal to their name, a bust-up involving Nicolas Anelka and coach Raymond Domenech which resulted in the Chelsea striker being expelled from the team camp and a subsequent strike by the rest of the squad in protest at Anelka’s expulsion.

There have been calls from government officials in France for change at the top of the FFF and Escalettes has now fallen on his sword.

“After a weekend of reflection during which I consulted with my elected colleagues and those close to me, I have decided that I must resign my position as president of the French Football Federation,” he said.

“I accept a clear portion of responsibility. My decision is essentially dictated by the wish to preserve and facilitate the development of an institution that I have had a passion for several decades. I will hand over my resignation at the meeting of the federal council on July 2.

“I will be available to everybody to analyse frankly the reasons behind the fiasco of the French team in South Africa. I will go into these points further on Friday in front of my colleagues in the federal council. In the interval, I will not comment further.”

Former France defender Bixente Lizarazu, who was a part of the 1998 World Cup-winning team, claimed Escalettes’ decision to renew Domenech’s contract two years ago had been the beginning of his demise.