PARIS (Reuters) – The executive of the French federation will meet on Feb. 28 following the publication of an audit that highlighted president Noel Le Graet’s ‘inappropriate behaviour towards women’, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Last month the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation against Le Graet for moral and sexual harassment. He denies any wrongdoing.
The audit, commissioned by the French sports ministry, concluded on Wednesday that Le Graet no longer had “the necessary legitimacy” to administer and represent the sport in France, bringing the 81-year-old to the brink of resignation.
Last month, Le Graet took a step back as FFF chief with Philippe Diallo taking over on an interim basis.
Le Graet came under fire for being dismissive about France great Zinedine Zidane, who had been one of the favourites to take over as France manager if Didier Deschamps left the job. Le Graet was then criticised for extending Deschamps’s contract until 2026 – two years after his mandate expires.
While the executive committee does not have the power to fire Le Graet, the president could be sent before the disciplinary committee.
“If Noël Le Graet does not resign, we will have to refer the matter to the Federation’s disciplinary committee. I also believe that the executive committee can do this,” Patrick Aton, the president of the FFF’s ethics committee, told sports daily L’Equipe.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
