Noël Le Graët has been at the head of the French Football Association for twelve years. With him as boss, the team will be world champions in 2018. But then there are allegations of sexual harassment and bullying. He also insults legend Zinedine Zidane. Now he is probably anticipating a dismissal. And immediately gets a job at FIFA.
The President of the French Football Association, Noël Le Graët, is stepping down after allegations of sexual harassment and bullying. At a board meeting, the 81-year-old announced his resignation, said the Football Association (FFF) in Paris. He had been under increasing pressure before.
For the time being, Le Graët had already vacated his post on January 11th. The Paris judiciary is investigating him for sexual harassment, he himself denies the allegations. Le Graët has held the top office since 2011. His fourth term would actually not have ended until 2024. The previous Vice-President Philippe Diallo will take over the office on an interim basis until the next Federal Assembly on June 10.
Immediately after his resignation, it was announced that Le Graët would be given a new leadership role at FIFA, the world football association, as reported by RMC Sport. The president was appointed to the association by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. “He will lead the Paris office. He was appointed for his skills, expertise and experience,” said FFF Executive Committee member Eric Borghini at the federation’s headquarters.
A report by the Ministry of Sport recently concluded that Le Graët no longer has the legitimacy to manage and represent French football. He has inappropriate behavior towards women and has regularly sexually harassed them with words and text messages. Le Graët’s behavior lacked the decency and dignity that his office required and his lapses, compounded by excessive alcohol consumption, damaged the image of the Football Association.
The Football Association itself stated that this report was based less on objective facts and more on assessments, which sometimes resulted in disproportionate slurs. The association also regretted that there had been no proper procedure and that numerous comments by the association on combating sexist and sexual violence had not been taken into account. The FFF is strongly committed to combating sexist and sexual violence.
The 81-year-old rejects the allegations. According to them, he sent messages with sexual content to current and former employees of the association. Players’ agent Sonia Souid was the first to report the misconduct, adding that he was “very self-confident” and “believes he can do anything,” RMC Sport quoted Souid as saying. Le Graët argued to RMC Sport that he didn’t send the messages and that he couldn’t text.
Le Graët had also provoked trouble by making derogatory remarks about France legend Zinedine Zidane. In a radio interview in January, the now ex-president said about what happened before the contract extension with national coach Didier Deschamps that he had no interest in calling Zidane. Asked if Zidane had called him to express his interest in Deschamps’ job, Le Graët replied: “I wouldn’t even have answered the phone. What should I have said to him? ‘Hello Monsieur, don’t worry, look’ You another club. I’ve just agreed on a contract with Didier.'” This triggered waves of outrage among the grandees of the football nation. Kylian Mbappé, for example, had thundered that “this legend should not be treated so disrespectfully”.
