Amélie Oudéa-Castera indicted for defamation against the former boss of the French Football Federation Noël Le Graët – Libération

The Minister of Sports was indicted in December in the investigation by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) after the defamation complaint by Noël Le Graët, we learned this Thursday, March 14.

Noël Le Graët has not said his last word. The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, was indicted in December in the investigation by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) after the defamation complaint of the former boss of the French Football Federation ( FFF), we learned this Thursday March 14 from a source close to the case, confirmed by the general public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation.

A judicial investigation has been open since June 21 at the CJR, the only jurisdiction authorized to judge ministers in the exercise of their functions, to examine the complaint of the former boss of French football, who criticizes the minister for comments made in February 2023 on his management of the French Football Federation (FFF).

Accusation of harassment

Noël Le Graët resigned in February 2023 with a bang from the FFF, which he had led since 2011, after a damning audit report from the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) on his management , amid accusations of sexual harassment. The IGESR inspectors estimated in this report that Le Graët “does not [disposait] more of the legitimacy necessary to administer and represent French football”, taking into account in particular his “inappropriate behavior […] towards women”.

A few hours after her departure, her lawyer announced a complaint, claiming that Amélie Oudéa-Castera had “lied” about this report and pointing out a difference between the summary of the document, published on February 15 and which mentioned the sending by Noël Le Graët of “SMS ambiguous for some and of a clearly sexual nature for others”, and its entirety. The report was never made public.

More information to come…