Noël Le Graët will know to what extent his seat is ejectable. The auditors responsible for investigating the malfunctions at the French Football Federation (FFF) are indeed making their final report to the main interested parties on Wednesday.
The inspection mission commissioned by the Ministry of Sports delivers its verdict after final hearings and a two-week period granted to Le Graët, the general manager Florence Hardouin (layoff) and the executive committee of the FFF to respond to the charges. The parties involved could claim a one-week postponement to heal their defense, but the Ministry of Sports indicated that the report would be sent as planned on Wednesday.
Stop or for Le Graët?
This day should therefore mark the end of the audit mission. Then will come the time for the conclusions to be drawn for the “Comex”, the government of French football made up of fourteen people, including Noël Le Graët. The ball is now in the court of the president, set back since January 11 and pushed to resign by some relatives. A departure or a return to business? The 81-year-old leader should make his position known quickly during an extraordinary Comex, perhaps on Friday.
“The situation is untenable, the most honorable solution would be for him to resign”, explains an elected official, on condition of anonymity. At the FFF, other voices describe a “Prez” (his nickname at the headquarters on Boulevard de Grenelle) sounded by events, considering himself innocent and reluctant to let go of the bar.
Noël Le Graët, boss of French football since 2011, has however been in the storm for several weeks, weakened by his clumsy statements about the icon Zinedine Zidane and by testimonies from women evoking his inappropriate behavior. Since mid-January, he has also been the subject of an investigation for moral and sexual harassment, opened following a report made by the inspectors. The latter indicated that they would transmit additional elements of information to justice.