The France Football Federation held an emergency meeting on Wednesday; President Noel le Graet forced to step down
It all started to go south for the France Football Federation President Noel le Graet when he emphatically dismissed Zinedine Zidane as a candidate for the position of Les Bleus Head Coach.
Speaking to RMC on Sunday Le Graet said, “Nobody. He [Zidane] does what he wants; it’s none of my business. I’ve never met him, we’ve never considered parting with Didier (Deschamps). He can go where he wants, to a club … If Zidane tried to contact me? Certainly not, I wouldn’t even pick up the phone.”
Having led Real Madrid to three consecutive Champions League victories while in charge, Zidane is revered as a footballing legend around the world and the comments sparked harsh criticism. Kylian Mbappe reacted on Twitter.
A statement from the FFF, on Wednesday, read “Noel Le Graet, in agreement with the FFF executive committee gathered today in Paris, has chosen to step down from his role as president until the completion of the audit performed by the sports ministry.”
This came after fresh accusations of sexual harassment by 37-year-old Sonia Souid, a sports agent. Le Graet frequently tried to approach her from 2013 to 2017, she said in an interview with the sports publication L’Equipe.
As reported by DailyMail, Le Graet was more interested in leaving voicemails on her phone in the late evening inviting her to drink champagne, she claimed, even though she wanted to work with him to promote women’s soccer.
Le Grat is running for re-election to the FIFA executive committee for another four-year term. Fernando Gomes, the head of the Portuguese Soccer Federation, is challenging him for the position. The election has been scheduled for April 5, when UEFA member countries gather in Lisbon.
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