Didier Deschamps has said Aymeric Laporte was incorrect to say the France coach ignored a message from the defender prior to him switching his international allegiance to Spain.
Manchester City centre-back Laporte declared for La Roja last month after being granted Spanish citizenship, leading to him being included in their 24-man Euro 2020 squad.
Laporte represented France at youth level, including the Under-21s, but was never handed a senior cap despite being called up by Deschamps.
It has previously been suggested that Laporte reached out to Deschamps to ask why he was continually overlooked, but the France head coach has strongly refuted that claim.
"He has the freedom to do what he likes," Deschamps said in an interview distributed to regional media in France.
"Ten seconds with the senior side would have been enough. But I don't select a player with the purpose of blocking him from having another choice. I was not going to do that.
"He was always included on the shortlists, but there is competition as well. What annoys me is what has been said, which is a lie.
"The only message I have received from him was in October, and that was regarding a specific situation after sustaining an injury.
"We considered him in November and March, and this time around. Leaving him out is not a mistake, it is just my decision. I wish him the best and he's free to make that choice."
Laporte spent nearly a decade in the Basque region while with Athletic Bilbao, initially as part of the youth squad before then graduating into the first team.
The centre-back's most recent call-up to the France squad was in August 2019 during qualifying for Euro 2020, which was pushed back by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He scored City's winner in April's EFL Cup final against Tottenham and collected a third Premier League title in four seasons, but 2020-21 was still a mixed campaign for Laporte.
John Stones and Ruben Dias were Pep Guardiola's preferred pairing at the back, though Laporte still made 27 appearances in all competitions during a gruelling campaign.
That total includes 16 outings in the Premier League, with the 27-year-old averaging 0.87 tackles per 90 minutes, as well as 0.47 blocks.
To put that into context, Raphael Varane – who looks certain to be a regular for France at Euro 2020 – averaged 0.73 tackles for Real Madrid in LaLiga this term, though did manage 0.6 blocks and won 2.42 aerial balls.
Presnel Kimpembe, meanwhile, impressed for Paris Saint-Germain with 1.09 tackles per 90 minutes, 0.43 blocks and 1.44 aerials won across his 28 Ligue 1 appearances.
Deschamps also has Jules Kounde, Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Digne, Lucas Hernandez, Clement Lenglet, Kurt Zouma and Leo Dubois to call upon in terms of defensive options.
France face Wales and Bulgaria in friendlies over the next week before beginning their Euro 2020 campaign against Germany in Munich on June 16.
Guardiola insists Man City share same title hunger as challengers
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City share the same hunger to lift the Premier League trophy as their title rivals, warning perfection may still be needed for the champions to retain their crown.
It has been a mixed week for City's rivals thus far, with Arsenal thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday before Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Everton.
Those results mean the Gunners sit four points clear of City and Liverpool lead the champions by one, but with two games in hand, the title race is still very much in City's hands.
They go to Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday before facing Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Guardiola still thinks even the slightest slip-up could prove costly.
Asked whether City need to win their six remaining games to win the title, Guardiola said: "Yes, absolutely. They gave us a chance, with the fact they lost last week to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
"But we knew what we had to do before those games, and now we have to win all games so that at the end, we have it in our hands to retain our title.
"Nothing changes. The fact is, we knew what we had to do before, and now nothing has changed."
Guardiola was then asked whether City are as motivated to win the title as their rivals, having lifted the trophy in five of their seven seasons under him to date.
He said: "I would not be here [if not]. There are so many games, and to be in this position after what we have done in the past, it would not be possible [without the desire].
"We know the difficulty is extreme, and it will remain difficult because we have tough games coming up. We go one game at a time, and we know that if we lose, it will be so tough to retain the title.
"Last Saturday proved the many difficulties we have, especially the schedule and recovery time after the game against [Real] Madrid. The players were unbelievable."
Guardiola hit out at the busy nature of the schedule after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, saying he couldn't understand how his players had managed to perform just three days after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Madrid.
Those comments have sparked renewed debate about the football calendar, and Guardiola was asked whether elite clubs had a right to complain while organising money-spinning pre-season tours around the globe.
"Yeah, but we have to do it," he said. "We have to pay the salaries of the players and the manager, and the club has fans all around the world who want to see us. They are an income for us.
"It's not easy, but we have to get resources. I would love to say don't go to another continent to play, have another week of holiday, and then train here. But we have to understand the club.
"It's not just Man City. Every club needs those financial resources to be sustainable. Now that we've won a lot, for many years, we have a lot of supporters. That's why it's necessary to do, and you have to adapt.
"But that is not the reason why [he complained]. The reason is that the schedule is so tight. I'm sorry, it's not."
Coventry City 2-3 Hull City: Tigers win five-goal thriller to keep play-off hopes alive
Hull City kept their hopes of gatecrashing the Championship play-offs alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Coventry City on Wednesday.
Noah Ohio scored the winner with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as Hull moved within three points of sixth-placed Norwich City with two games to play.
Coventry, meanwhile, saw their own hopes of returning to Wembley Stadium for a second successive play-off final all but ended, as they sit six points further back with three matches remaining.
Three days on from their remarkable comeback against Manchester United, the Sky Blues twice fought back to level things at Coventry Building Society Arena. Jaden Philogene's shot squirmed under goalkeeper Bradley Collins to put Hull ahead 31 minutes in, but Kasey Palmer levelled within five minutes with a stunning free-kick.
Hull went back ahead in controversial circumstances on the stroke of half-time, Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho converting from the penalty spot despite replays showing Joel Latibeaudiere's foul on Liam Delap took place outside the area.
Mark Robins' men again dragged themselves back into the game as Bobby Thomas headed Jay Dasilva's cross in just before the hour mark, but it was Liam Rosenior's visitors who found a winner.
Thomas went from hero to villain as his poor back pass sold Collins short, and Ohio got a toe to the ball to score the winner, keeping Hull's hopes of Premier League football intact.
Van Dijk: Liverpool have 'no chance' in title race after derby defeat
Virgil van Dijk conceded Liverpool might be out of the Premier League title race after they suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Everton in Wednesday's Merseyside derby.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored in either half to give the Toffees their first win over Liverpool at Goodison Park since 2010.
Liverpool struggled to find a way through the Toffees' defence despite dominating for long periods, and the Reds' captain says they will not outlast Arsenal and Manchester City without major improvements.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: "If we play like today, then we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title race.
"We have to just focus on the next game and that will be a tough one anyway, so we will see.
"We're very disappointed, in so many ways. I think everyone has to look at their own performances. Did they really give everything, and do they really want to win the league?
"We're still fighting and there are still games after tonight, but if we play like we did overall in the game today – not winning challenges and giving the referee a chance to give free-kicks like he did many times, then you have no chance to win the title."
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