French Coach Demands Compensation as Condition to Quit Vice-champions JS Kabylie

French-born gaffer Franck Dumas has asked to be paid a three months’ salary as compensation and condition to terminate his contract with Algerian league vice-champions JS Kabylie, Ducor Sports can reveal.

Club president Cheriff Mellal confirmed that a new coach would take over the reins next season, but first, the outfit is preoccupied with ridding itself of Dumas who is strongly credited for the club’s second-place achievement in the just-concluded campaign.

Fans are stunned that Mellal is letting their favourite gaffer head out the exit door after piling pressure on eventual title winners USM Alger with a limited squad.

The fall out between Dumas and Mellal began after the latter appeared to blame the coach for using similar tactics and losing three key games which he felt could have had them finishing as kings of the league considering Alger beat them to the staked prize by a solitary point.

Franck did not take lightly of the deride emanating from his immediate boss and voiced disgust in return.

This is one of many spats the duo have had this term alone. At the conclusion of the league –on final league game day to be exact – the French tactician was umbraged at the board’s decision to allow one of his strikers to join his national team in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 51-year-old gaffer and erstwhile Monaco and Marseille defender was left red-faced about permission to give the player the go-ahead 24 hours before their crucial final league game day, insisting the national call-up could have been delayed a bit.

Dumas felt it was yet another attempt by his chairman Mellal to undermine his authority. Kabylie would go on to win that duel and come second in the standings in a season neutrals feel the coach has been a standout.

But the relationship between the pair by this time has been tempestuous. It’s believed that, for months, Cherif has toyed with the idea of sacking the French man and has been looking for frailties to capitalise on.

Their row deepened last week when Mellal said the manager must scoop both the Algerian league and the African Champions League titles if he must continue barking instructions from the JS Kabylie dug-out at resumption of the championship –targets Dumas described as “ludicrous”, saying mechanisms aren’t in place towards the attainment of such “audacious” ambitions.

In the interim, reports are being bandied about that JSK’s hierarchy have made arrangements to meet former TP Mazembe coach Hubert Velud amid rife suggestions he could be named the next figure to occupy the managerial hot-seat.

And in the latest occurrence, Dumas has placed a condition on the table saying that the club will only see the back of him if he is paid three months of his earnings, a request the board is understood to be not too receptive of.

Contracts of coaches are rarely made public in the North African country’s game but Ducor Sports understand Franck’s contract runs down at June’s end.