How did Noël Le Graët react by browsing, Monday, January 30, the version of the provisional audit report of the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) concerning him? Withdrawn from the affairs of the French Football Federation (FFF) since January 11, the president of the body had to moderately appreciate the conclusions of the three inspectors charged, from September 2022, by the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa- Castéra, to control “the management of the FFF and the respect of the obligations attached to it”.
In the version sent to members of the FFF’s executive committee, including The world became aware, the IGESR considered that “Mr. Le Graët no longer has the necessary legitimacy to administer and represent French football, given his behavior towards women, his public statements and the failures of the governance of the FFF. »
This appreciation made the lawyers of “NLG”, Florence Bourg and Thierry Marembert, come out of their hinges. “At this stage, this pre-report, whose partiality is fairly obvious, is not based on anything serious or conclusive, it is peppered with value judgments, incriminating interpretations on the basis of anonymous testimonies of which we do not know the content “we lovee Bourg.
“No serious element”
Following the advice of the general manager Florence Hardouin, laid off as a precautionary measure on January 11 and under the threat of dismissal for “serious misconduct”, Mr. Le Graët’s lawyers have until February 13 to send their observations in writing to the inspectors. Delivery of the final audit report to Mr.me Oudéa-Castéra is scheduled for February 15.
“As it stands, with this preliminary report, it is very difficult to defend oneself without having precise knowledge of the elements, whereas the adversarial principle is supposed to guarantee each party the possibility of reading the precise elements of the file in order to be able to present their observations, develop Me Bourg. There was no need for so much virulence. Positive items are returned dependent. This lawsuit in legitimacy which is made to Mr. Le Graët is not based on any serious element. There is a huge contrast between the virulence of the words, the comments and judgments against him and the absence of precise factual elements. »
His client has been targeted, since January 16, by a preliminary investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office for “moral and sexual harassment” following a report issued three days earlier by the inspection mission, under the terms of the article 40 of the code of penal procedure. Statements in the media and the hearing by the IGESR of players’ agent Sonia Souid helped to encourage the inspectors to take legal action. Mr. Le Graët has since also been accused by the entourage of his former CEO, Florence Hardouin, of “ acts of sexual and moral harassment for several years. »
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