Watch Vieira and Evra arguing in the tunnel here

The fallout from France’s embarrassing exit from Euro 2008 continued yesterday when Raymond Domenech conceded that there had been division in the camp and footage was published on the internet of a tunnel fracas between Patrick Vieira and Patrice Evra. The France coach would not comment on the incident specifically, but his claim that to young players “old men are all schmucks” gives some indication of the tensions simmering in his underachieving squad.

More tangible proof of such discontent was provided by a Norwegian television crew, who captured a confrontation between Vieira and Evra after last week’s 4-1 defeat by Holland. The mêlée is understood to have been sparked by a Holland fan spitting at Vieira, although the Inter Milan midfield player is shown being pulled away from Evra by Jean-Alain Boumsong. Vieira then turns around to have another word with the Manchester United defender, who was at the centre of controversy six weeks ago after appearing to throw a punch at a Chelsea steward.

Although the evidence is inconclusive, Domenech did not deny that a confrontation took place in a bizarre outburst. “It is what ‘to respect’?” he said. “The objective of all the generations is to kill those who are above. You were young journalists. You listened to the old man, but you also thought that if he could be gone from there, it would not be bad. It is normal to reason like that, it is life. When one is 20 years old, the old men all are schmucks.”

In addition to clashing with Evra, Vieira was involved in another confrontation after the defeat in Berne with a resumption of his long-running feud with Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Holland striker is understood to have waited for Vieira in the tunnel with the intention of taunting his adversary, with whom he clashed repeatedly when they were at Manchester United and Arsenal respectively.

Domenech is expected to pay for France’s elimination, which was confirmed after a 2-0 defeat by Italy on Tuesday, with his job. The French football federation will announce its decision on July 3. Didier Deschamps, who lifted the World Cup as captain in Paris in 1998, is the favourite to replace him after failing to find a club job since leaving Juventus 12 months ago.

“My personal fate does not have any interest for me,” Domenech said. “I never made a plan for the future. I say that the team of France has a plan for the future. I know what I have to do, but the decisions do not belong to me. I say that this team has a future and this tournament was an interesting experiment for a young generation.

“You speak about failure, it is your right. I speak about disappointment. The team of France does not expire every two years and there is continuity.”