The “behavioral drifts” of the president of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, “are incompatible with the exercise of his functions and the requirement of exemplarity which is attached to him”, according to the summary of the audit mission. on the FFF, consulted by AFP.
The document from the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), dated Wednesday, points to “inappropriate public positions”, “inappropriate behavior (…) vis-à-vis women “In particular through “SMS ambiguous for some and of a clearly sexual nature for others”, and “invites the federal authorities to examine this situation in application of the statutory provisions”.
Drifts accentuated by alcohol consumption
“The hearings conducted by the mission have shown that the inappropriate and insulting nature of Mr. Le Graët’s remarks can be accentuated by excessive alcohol consumption”, write the inspectors again, after four and a half months of investigation and more than a hundred testimonies collected.
They claim to have taken into account the observations made by his lawyers after the sending of a preliminary report on January 30, but ensure that “the general meaning” of the final report, delivered on Wednesday, “was not found amended”. As a result, they still consider that the leader of the FFF “no longer has the legitimacy necessary to administer and represent French football”.
The listeners recognize that Le Graët “enjoyed a very positive image in the world of football, after having straightened the finances of the FFF and modernized its organization in the service of a positive sporting dynamic”, before the “very centralized use of power does not lead to “dysfunctions and clan logic”.
Hardouin’s methods also targeted
The synthesis also highlights “the brutal methods and the behavior deemed erratic” of the general manager Florence Hardouin, laid off in January, which “no longer allows her to exercise recognized authority”.
The “asserted skills” of the DG are certainly recognized but its “decision-making autonomy” has “drift towards a worrying isolation for the institution”, affirms the document, pointing to the relationship that has become “toxic” between Le Graët and Hardouin. She also claims “to have suffered from the inappropriate behavior” of the 81-year-old leader.
The executive committee, a sort of government of the FFF, is also singled out. The functioning of the body, described as “a place of findings and consensus”, “illustrates a weakness of democratic exercise” because internal projects are “little or not debated”, is it written.