Le Graët, removed from the presidency of French football

Noël Le Graët, peppered by various scandals and controversies, has not resigned but has been “separated” from the presidency of the French Football Federation (FFF) by its extraordinary Executive Committee, meeting this Wednesday in Paris. Philippe Diallo will assume the position on an interim basis.

Diallo’s time at the helm of French football should last until said Executive Committee publishes the audit report on the operation of the FFF that has been commissioned by the French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, and which is expected by the end of February.

In office since 2011, Le Graët (81 years old), former socialist mayor of the city of Guingamp, had to face several highly topical issues at the meeting on Wednesday. To begin with, the renewal of the coach Didier Deschamps until 2026, announced on Saturday by Le Graët, was “unanimously validated”, according to the FFF.

On the other hand, this Sunday caused a huge stir in France and also in Spain when Le Graët spoke on the RMC radio station when talking about Zinedine Zidane, who for a long time sounded like a possible coach if Deschamps left office after the World Cup in Qatar.

Le Graët said that Zidane “would not have answered the phone” because his only option was to renew Deschamps. The star Kylian Mbappé and the minister Oudéa-Castéra, among many others, criticized the statements by Le Graët, who apologized on Monday for his “unfortunate words” about the Madrid legend, defended through a statement also by the white club.