Under-fire France coach Laurent Blanc told a hearing yesterday he “regretted that certain opinions” were made at a meeting last November which allegedly discussed introducing quotas on the number of dual-nationality players at youth training centres, according to a source close to the inquiry.

Blanc confirmed to the joint hearing of the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Sports Ministry that the discussion had taken place on November 8 last year but he emphasised that the discussion did not concern him directly.

The source told AFP the enquiry has notably pointed the finger of responsibility for the manner in which the matter was discussed at Francois Blaquart, who has been suspended as national technical director, and also highlighted a lack of communication within the FFF.

Blanc returned to Bordeaux after the hearing in Paris, which was held at a top secret address.

Blanc was the last witness to be heard leaving Sports Ministry inspectors to write up their report, with Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno holding a press conference this morning to give a presentation of the findings.

The two-pronged inquiry was launched after the Mediapart website ten days ago released a transcript of the meeting last November.

A number of players have come through French academies in recent years, and represented France at youth level, only to switch allegiances to the senior sides of different countries.

The controversy comes less than a year after the debacle of their 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa when the France team went on a training ground strike.