Greece have sacked their head coach Claudio Ranieri, a day after the 2004 European champions lost 1-0 at home to the Faroe Islands in a Uefa Euro 2016 qualifier.
The humiliating loss left Greece bottom of Group F and on the brink of missing out on a slot for the 2016 European championship billed for France.
A statement from the Hellenic Football Federation says the Italian boss’ departure had been decided at a meeting with federation president Giorgios Sarris.
“There was no other option than to terminate the contract,” the statement added.
In the meantime, Ranieri would take charge of the Ethniki for the friendly match against Serbia on Tuesday- his last assignment with the side.
The former Chelsea and Monaco boss’s stint with Greece was his only managerial outing at full international level having succeeded Portuguese, Fernando Santos , who had just taken the team to the Fifa World Cup last 16 for the first time in their history in Brazil.
Greece’s next Euro 2016 qualification match is against Hungary in March. The federation has said there is “plenty of time” to look for a new coach before that match.
