what we know about the Le Graët – Liberation affair

He got himself into the trap a bit. In the hot seat for many months, Noël Le Graët has triggered a wave of indignation with his polemical remarks on Zinédine Zidane who is at a bad time when the Breton leader is auditioned by the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and of research (IGERS). This is the second time he has had to respond to this audit mission commissioned by the Ministry of Sports and responsible for clarifying the dysfunctions within the French Football Federation (FFF) that Le Graët has led since 2011. Tuesday morning, player agent Sonia Souid was the first woman to openly tell what she had suffered from the boss of the FFF. And in the afternoon, we learned of the convocation of the executive committee of the FFF for Wednesday morning, on the initiative of Noël Le Graët. To counterattack?

What is the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research?

Noël Le Graët, as well as the director general of the FFF Florence Hardouin, therefore passes in front of the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research this Tuesday. Placed under the direct authority of the Ministers in charge of Education, Youth and Sports, the body carries out evaluation, expertise, control and audit missions at the request of the Ministers. The leader of the FFF has already been heard for the first time at the very beginning of this mission, launched in October 2022 by the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. The opening of this procedure followed suspicions of moral and sexual harassment against him published in the press. Notably by Radio France and the monthly So Foot highlighting numerous abuses.

However, the management of the FFF explains that it is a “end-of-procedure interview”, the conclusions of the mission being expected by the end of January, the inspectors being in the process of completing their work before the so-called “contradictory” phase. However, the IGESR wishes to hear the boss of the FFF again on these accusations that several employees came to detail before the inspectors over the fall. For its part, given the extent of the crisis of confidence, the Ministry of Sports wants the inspection to speed up the tempo. “The statement of conclusions will be completed in the week of January 19 to 25explained Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra on Monday during a press conference. The (FFF executive committee) will have material. We are at a moment that I think is critical for the future of this federation.

What are the new elements against Noël Le Graët?

The testimony of player agent Sonia Souid, made public by BFMTV, RMC Sports and L’Equipe on Tuesday, could well be fatal to the Breton leader. “He told me face to face, in his apartment, very clearly, that if I wanted him to help me, I had to go to the pan”says the young woman, recounting an appointment intended to promote women’s football. “Each time, the only thing that interests him, and I apologize for speaking vulgarly, are my two breasts and my ass,” adds the agent to describe her relationship with the boss of the FFF. This is the first direct and face-to-face testimony from a woman evolving in the professional world of Noël Le Graët, four months after the publication of the investigation by the magazine So Foot which reported inappropriate behavior, with in particular the sending SMS of a sexual nature, which the person concerned has repeatedly denied.

Similarly, Radio France publishes this Tuesday the content of several hearings of women before the IGESR, denouncing the attitude of Le Graët towards them. According to France Inter, a former executive has “shown to inspectors text messages and WhatsApp messages”who “are certainly not illegal, but […] question in view of the hierarchical link that existed between them”. “He calls a lot. I have voicemails and a few text messages”corroborated Sonia Souid in her testimony referring to numerous dinner invitations, in particular.

What is the position of the minister in charge, Amélie Oudéa-Castera?

Since his exit on Zidane – from which he would have nothing to shake and which he would not even take on the phone – Noël Le Graët finds himself once again in the eye of the storm. Target, among others, of the wrath of the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who expressed in person a “Fed up” actually felt at the top of the state, according to a government source. “I make the statement of bankruptcy with a freewheeling word, which wavers and sometimes seriously. It is important that the (executive committee) of the FFF take the full measure of this failure in representation and that it expresses itself, ”she said at a press conference on Monday.

The fourteen members of the “comex”, this government of French football, are the only ones authorized to push Le Graët towards the exit. Technically, the political power does not have the possibility of dismissing the president of the FFF, which would also provoke the ire of the International Federation (Fifa) which prohibits any state intervention. However, the minister announced her decision to open “another component in this (inspection) mission which will relate to human resources issues, budgetary and financial aspects” of the FFF.