Ex-France winger David Ginola called a radio station on Wednesday to passionately defend himself against comments made his by former coach Gerard Houllier.
Ginola, 48, was famously singled out for criticism by the then-France manager after Les Bleus missed out on the 1994 World Cup in the United States, and Houllier repeated the criticism in 2010.
Houllier, 68, had blamed the former Tottenham and Newcastle winger for Bulgaria's injury-time winner in France's final qualifying match in Paris in November 1993.
Ginola had attempted to cross the ball instead of holding it in the corner and the visitors then swept up the other end of the pitch.
Emil Kostadinov's breathtaking goal sealed a 2-1 win at the Parc des Princes, which meant France would have to sit out the following year's tournament.
After the game Houllier said Ginola had committed "a crime" against the spirit of the team, citing a prematch interview the player had given to a newspaper.
In interviews to promote his new autobiography this week, the ex-Liverpool and Lyon manager said he regretted his choice of words but also claimed that his lawyer told him that Ginola had not accepted an apology in 2012.
After hearing Houllier speak about him on RMC on Wednesday, the former Paris Saint-Germain player called the station to give his version of events.
"I thought he'd go back on an incident that we all know about," Ginola said during an intervention that lasted almost nine minutes. "I don't need anyone to accept or to refuse apologies -- I'm a big boy.
"They're lies [what Houllier said]. I never said that I should play in place of [Jean-Pierre] Papin or [Eric] Cantona. The only thing that I said at the time is very simple -- 'I think that the national coach is weak, easily swayed and influenced by the press and by certain players.'
"He construed what he wanted from that. The press created some big headlines out of it but I never said that I should play instead of someone else."
Ginola, who unsuccessfully sued Houllier over comments in a previous book, also claimed that the former PSG and Aston Villa boss did not want to discuss their differences of opinion live on air.
"What's he afraid of?" Ginola asked. "In no case and at no time do I hear someone who says, 'As manager of the national team, I made mistakes too and if France didn't qualify for the 1994 World Cup, it's because I too, over the course of the group stage, did not do what was needed.'
"It's nice to say that Ginola is a criminal but in football you win with 11 [players] and you lose with 11. And at that moment, I lost all on my own."