PARIS: French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet has been forced to stand down just weeks after France’s defeat in the World Cup final following a series of controversies, the body said on Wednesday.
The decision was taken following an emergency meeting of the FFF in Paris. “Noel Le Graet, in agreement with the FFF executive committee gathered today in Paris, has chosen to step down from his role as president until the completion of the audit performed by the sports ministry,” the federation said.
Le Graet, whose mandate was due to run until 2024, had faced calls to resign after what he admitted were “clumsy remarks” about Zinedine Zidane’s potential interest in coaching the French national team.
The 81-year-old, who has been president of the FFF since 2011, had said in an interview with radio station RMC on Sunday that he “wouldn’t even have taken his call” when asked whether Zidane, a World Cup winner as a player and an all-time France great, had rung him to express an interest in taking over as coach from Didier Deschamps.