Didier Deschamps Les Bleus Zinedine Zidane Noel Le-Graet Qatar France Paris soccer Sport Didier Deschamps Les Bleus Zinedine Zidane Noel Le-Graet Qatar France Paris

French football chief La Graet steps down after Zidane comments

rte.ie

Noel Le Graet has stepped aside as president of the French Football Federation, just days after making dismissive comments about Zinedine Zidane.Le Graet, 81, apologised to former Les Bleus captain Zidane after admitting comments he made about the former Real Madrid manager were "clumsy".Zidane had been strongly linked as a potential successor to Didier Deschamps, but Le Graet told radio station RMC he would not take a call from one of France's most decorated players and added: "I don't give a damn, he can go wherever he wants".Deschamps, who led Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018 and runners-up in Qatar last month, was handed a new two-year extension, but Le Graet's attitude towards Zidane went down poorly.Kylian Mbappe tweeted his support of the "legend", while the head of FFF's ethics committee Patrick Anton called for the octogenarian to stand down.Le Graet, who has also faced allegations about his private conduct, agreed to do so at a meeting with the federation's executive committee, pending the findings of an ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Sports.The committee also removed general manager Florence Hardouin, with deputy vice-president Philippe Diallo taking over both positions on an acting basis.

Deschamps, meanwhile, had his contract ratified.A statement from FFF read: "Noel Le Graet, in agreement with the executive committee of the FFF meeting today in Paris, has chosen to withdraw from his duties as president of the Federation until the final communication of the audit carried out by the Ministry of Sports, and awaiting its analysis by the Comex (executive committee) of the FFF."The Comex of the FFF has also decided to lay off Florence Hardouin, general manager of the FFF, as a precautionary measure.

Related News
PARIS :The head of France's LNH Handball league has been handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for corruption of a minor and recording of child pornography images, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
PARIS : The head of France's LNH Handball league faces charges of corruption of a minor and recording of child pornography images, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
PARIS : The French football federation's president Noel Le Graet, who is under legal investigation for moral and sexual harassment and stepped back amid criticism of his governance, totally failed in his duty to represent the body, the Sports Minister said on Friday.
PARIS: The Paris prosecutor's office said on Tuesday (Jan 17) it had opened an investigation for moral and sexual harassment against French football federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet.
French football federation president Noel Le Graet is facing an investigation after allegations of “sexual and moral harassment” were made against him by a female sports agent.
PARIS : The Paris prosecutor's office said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation for moral and sexual harassment against French soccer federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.