Ex-France coach Domenech ‘can’t be denied’ bonus

Acting French Football Federation (FFF) president Fernand Duchaussoy revealed yesterday that sacked France coach Raymond Domenech could not be denied his World Cup bonus if he asked for it.

“If he wants the bonus, we can’t prevent him,” said Duchaussoy, who was speaking at a general assembly of the French Professional Football League (LFP) at the FFF headquarters in Paris. “He hasn’t touched it, but we can’t use it for ourselves.” Domenech was sacked after overseeing France’s first-round exit at the World Cup in South Africa, but Duchaussoy said the terms of his dismissal did not include an agreement to renounce his bonus.

Last month, the 23 players from France’s World Cup squad agreed to forfeit bonuses linked to the use of their image rights at the World Cup.

Duchaussoy said he was “fairly confident” that Domenech would do the same.

Domenech on Wednesday employed the services of a management company, Laminak Conseil, in a bid to repair the damage to his reputation inflicted in the wake of France’s disastrous World Cup campaign.

In November he launched a lawsuit against the FFF for €2.9 million over wrongful dismissal and damage to his professional reputation.

Since his sacking in September, Domenech has split his time between making sponsored appearances at poker tournaments and training young footballers in the Boulogne-Billancourt district west of Paris.