The Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) announced on Wednesday that it has sacked head coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant, following the team’s poor performance at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023.
The decision came two days after the host nation suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in their final group game, which left them with only three points from three matches and in danger of missing out on the knockout stage.
FIF said in a statement that the contracts of the French duo were terminated “due to insufficient results in accordance to the contract of objectives they had with the FIF”.
Former Ivory Coast midfielder Emerse Faé will take over as interim coach.
Gasset, 70, was appointed in May 2022, replacing his compatriot Patrice Beaumelle, who failed to guide the Elephants to the 2022 World Cup and was eliminated in the last 16 of the previous AFCON in Cameroon.
Gasset’s tenure started well, with Ivory Coast winning their opening AFCON game 2-0 against Guinea-Bissau, but things went downhill from there.
They lost 1-0 to Nigeria in their second match, and then collapsed against Equatorial Guinea, who scored four goals.
The result sparked anger among some Ivorian fans, who vandalized commuter buses outside the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe in Abidjan.
It was Ivory Coast’s heaviest ever home defeat at the AFCON, and the first time an AFCON host lost two group games since the Ivorians themselves did so in 1984.
Ivory Coast still has a slim chance of advancing to the last 16 as one of the best four third-placed teams, depending on the outcomes of the final group games on Wednesday.
However, their hopes are hanging by a thread, and their fate is out of their hands.
FIF said it “remains convinced of the potential of our football team, and calls on everyone to unite for all the challenges ahead”.