French Ligue 1 strugglers Strasbourg have sacked coach Julien Stephan with the team languishing in the relegation zone, the club announced on Monday.
Strasbourg said in a statement that Stephan had been "provisionally suspended", a turn of phrase in French that in this context almost always means the coach will not be returning to the post.
Stephan, 42, led Strasbourg to sixth place last season as they narrowly missed out on European qualification.
However, the Alsace side have won just once in 17 games in this campaign and lie second-bottom, four points from safety.
They were also knocked out of the French Cup at the weekend, losing on penalties at home to fellow top-flight strugglers Angers.
Stephan's assistant Mathieu Le Scornet has been placed in charge for Wednesday's league game against high-flying Lens.