Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 11:40 a.m.
Noël Le Graët has submitted his resignation as president of the French Football Federation at the Extraordinary Executive Committee held this Tuesday in Paris.
The 81-year-old president resigns from office after more than eleven years at the head of the French Federation, although he had been away from it since January 11, after the harsh statements made by the former president about Zinedine Zidane, in those who assured that he did not care “a damn” if he signed or not with the Brazilian team. He also stated that “I would not have even picked up the phone” if he had received a call from Zizou to discuss his future as the French coach. “Make a special program for him to find a club or a selection,” he concluded in that interview.
Le Graët has also been involved in an internal audit by the French commission itself, whose final report ensured that his behavior as the highest president, among which there were accusations of sexual harassment, did not fall within the limits of the law that must govern in the Federation.
He leaves the French team after a tenure of almost twelve years in which he has won a World Cup, in 2018, and a League of Nations, in 2021 with victory against the Spanish team in the final. Philippe Diallo is the person who is exercising the functions of interim president until the elections are held, as long as 25% of the members of the federative assembly agree.
It should be remembered that Didier Deschamps signed his contract extension with ‘Les Bleus’ during Le Graët’s tenure. This decision cannot be revoked since it was signed and approved by the French council held in January, and the option for Zidane to train the French team will have to wait until at least 2026.
