Mali’s football federation said Thursday that head coach Eric Chelle had been fired.

The statement, which was broadcast on national television, provided no justification for the decision, although the dismissal comes just days after Mali was held goalless by 10-man Madagascar in a Group I World Cup qualifier in Johannesburg.

Read Also:FIFA WCQ: Botswana Defeat Somalia To Keep Hope Alive

“The executive committee of the Malian Football Federation, meeting in extraordinary session today unanimously decided, with the agreement of the supervisory authority, to end the collaboration between the coach of the National Team Senior, Mr. Eric Sekou Chelle and the federation,” the statement said.

Chelle, 46, was born in the Ivory Coast to a French father and a Malian mother and was raised in France.

He played for clubs primarily in France and for Mali at the international level, making five appearances between 2004 and 2006.

He was named Mali’s head coach in May 2022 and guided the side to the quarterfinals of the 2023 African Cup of Nations, which took place in Ivory Coast earlier this year. Chelle had coached in France’s lower divisions at Martigues and Boulogne before taking over Mali.