French Football Federation (FFF) President Noel Le Grae has been removed from his position to be taken over by Philippe Diallo on an interim basis, a member of the federation’s executive committee told AFP on Wednesday.
Le Grae, who took over as FFF president in 2011 and whose mandate expires in 2024, has not resisted the latest controversy, statements about coach Zinedine Zidane that he himself admitted were “uncorrected” and which motivated the intervention of the French minister. sports, Amelie Oudea-Castera.
“Noel Le Grae has been deposed. (…) Philippe Diallo temporarily holds this position,” the same source told the French news agency, adding that Diallo will remain in office “until the meeting of the Executive Committee after the publication of the audit of the activities of the federation,” the minister requested.
Hours after the FFF extended coach Didier Deschamps’ contract until 2026 on Sunday, Le Grae dissed Zidane, who some media outlets have called a possible successor to the current world runner-up coach.
“If Zidane tried to talk to me, I wouldn’t even talk to him. What would I say to him? Probably: “Hello sir, don’t worry, look for another club. I just settled things with Didier.” [Deschamps]”, he said in an interview with RMC Sport radio.
Asked if Zidane could take Tite’s place at the helm of Brazil, Le Graet again didn’t speak very cordially of the former France international: “I don’t know, I would be surprised. But I don’t care if he goes where you are very supportive of Zidane, dedicate a special program to him so that he can find a club or a national team.”
The next day, he apologized to the former international footballer, considered one of the best French players of all time, admitting that he should not have been interviewed because “what they were looking for was a contradiction that contradicted Didier.” [Deschamps] Zidane, two monuments to French football.”
“I would like to apologize for the statements that absolutely do not reflect my thoughts or my attitude towards the player that he was and the manager that he became,” Le Grae said in a statement, acknowledging that comments about Zidane, the champion the world in 1998, and the European ones in 2000 were “losers”.
Wednesday’s extraordinary federal summit, in which the president made the final decision on his fate, also led to the removal of FFF CEO Florence Hardouin, who had a bad institutional relationship with Le Grae.
The 81-year-old Le Grae’s long “consulate” was marked by several controversies and the alleged sexist behavior of the federation’s leader, who was supposed to compete with Fernando Gomes, president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), for UEFA’s candidacy for a seat on the FIFA Council.
“It is important that the FFF Executive Committee take a good look at the situation at a moment of reflection to which I invite you,” Amélie Oudea-Kastera said on Monday, noting that there are people in this body who have already “demonstrated their value, their effectiveness, their vision and sense of responsibility” capable of “putting this federation on the right track”.
According to the minister, Le Grae had a “failure in the representative function” of French football with statements that “seriously failed”, so he left a warning: “I don’t want situations like this anymore. He has taught us this nonsense.”
The minister pointed to some of the director’s controversial remarks regarding racist and homophobic phenomena in football, believing that they “may shock the public”, in addition to damaging the image of France and offending the French.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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