This is his first official speech since his dismissal from the French Football Federation. In the columns of The Team, the former director general of the FFF notably returned to the heart attack she had at the time after her dismissal in the media. “I am recovering slowly. Physically, I remain cautious, I am followed medically. The hardest part is the psychological aspect, she explains. I will remember January 11 all my life. I was coming out of a professional lunch, I was in the street and I learned of my layoff from the media. The emotional shock was very strong. »
“I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I had a pain in my chest, it was hot. As I know my body well, I quickly knew that it was a bit serious. In the emergency room, they told me I had a heart attack. I was devastated. The word heart attack is scary. What I’m going to tell you may be silly, but I was afraid of dying, says Florence Hardouin. I immediately thought of my children, my family, my loved ones. The experience was traumatic and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. »
“I am not the monster that has been described”
Asked about the criticisms made at the time of the Le Graët affair on his brutal methods and his tough management, the former CEO of the Federation explains that he is “demanding”. “When I had tough decisions to make, I made them. I can be cash and direct. It doesn’t appeal to everyone, but does that make me a hateful, brutal person? I have faults like everyone else but frankly, I am not the monster that we have been able to describe, ”she assures.
Florence Hardouin took her dismissal to the industrial tribunal and also lodged a complaint for moral and sexual harassment in the context of the preliminary investigation opened against Noël Le Graët. “I suffered inappropriate behavior, inappropriate remarks. I haven’t unboxed them to the general public and in the press, but I’ve spoken to a lot of people internally and externally… With hindsight, yes […] I should have had the courage to say it more openly or denounce it, she adds. But you are afraid to denounce such things because afterwards… Because you also value your position. When you’re alone, when you experience a certain number of things, inappropriate comments or behavior… In any case, I was scared. If you talk too much…”.