February 16 – France’s sports minister has refuted any suggestion of government interference in the affairs of the French FA (FFF) as the fallout gathers pace over the status of veteran FFF chief Noel le Graët.
Le Graët (pictured) is a member of FIFA’s all-powerful Council but agreed recently to step down to await the findings of a judicial investigation into a series of alleged misdemeanours.
Earlier this week, FIFA’s general secretary Fatma Samoura wrote to Le Graet’s interim replacement, Philippe Diallo, stressing the need for independence and warning against the intervention of any third party.
That was followed by a meeting in Paris between French president Emmanuel Macron and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to discuss the general relationship between the two parties.
Although no details have been made public, French reports said Le Graët’s case was almost certainly raised in the discussions.
Within hours of that meeting, Le Graët’s right to remain in charge was questioned in a French government audit that found his management style and behaviour toward women were “incompatible with the exercise of his functions.”
The audit “considers that Mr. Le Graët no longer has the necessary legitimacy to manage and represent French football. It believes that the drifting behaviour of Mr. Le Graët is now detrimental to the image of the (federation) and invites the federal authorities to examine this situation in application of the statutory provisions.”
Le Graët was also criticised for the way he runs the FFF, with the report blaming him for his “very centralized exercise of power.”
Le Graët is up for re-election as a FIFA Council member in April and the case surrounding him is hugely awkward for FIFA and Infantino who has constantly banged the drum for cleaning up the organisation.
French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who has publicly denounced Le Graet and who ordered the audit, says it’s up to the French FA to decide his future.
“The question now is to know what is the institutional path … to find a healthy and peaceful situation that allows us to move forward,” she told the French media saying she had “confidence in the authorities in the FFF to get out of the crisis.”
It remains to be seen whether FIFA takes the view that such pressure amounts to interference as it strives to protect the reputation of one of its own inner circle members.
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