Abily and Bompastor to leave Lyon

Olympique Lyonnais coach Farid Benstiti has confirmed to uefa.com that he has lost key French internationals Camille Abily and Sonia Bompastor for their UEFA Women's Cup semi-final against FCR 2001 Duisburg over the next two weekends.

US destination
Midfielder Abily, 24 and left-back Bompastor, 28, both joined from Montpellier Hérault SC in 2006 and have helped Lyon win two French titles and reach the last four of the UEFA Women's Cup both last and this season. However, the pair are in talks to join clubs in the new Women's Professional Soccer league in the United States, which launches next week.

Disappointment
"We'll have to cope with the departures of Camille Abily and Sonia Bompastor," Benstiti said. "They abandoned us. It's not a sporting disappointment, it's more from a human point of view. This is it. I won't say more. I just think that one must finish what we started. It's a life principle. Individual interest must not be the only thing."

Arrivals
However, for the visit of Duisburg on Saturday and the return in Germany on 5 April, Benstiti is able to call on two new midfield signings. "To replace them, we have Ingvild Stensland and Lara Dickenmann, who are also exceptional players," the coach said.