Valenciennes sacks coach Pierre Blay two days after club-record 13–0 Cup win

Third-tier French side Valenciennes has dismissed head coach Pierre Blay, two days after the team's 13–0 Coupe de France victory, citing a poor league start.

• Valenciennes defeated ninth-tier CS Habarcq 13–0 in the fourth round of the Coupe de France on Saturday.
• The club announced Blay's dismissal effective Monday without disclosing reasons; he had taken over late last season and secured the team's survival.
• Valenciennes sits 15th in the third-tier table with 8 points from 9 matches, having lost three of its last four league games.
• Samuel Gothals has been appointed interim coach, assisted by former Valenciennes player Rudy Mater.