"It is important that the Comex of the French Football Federation takes the full measure of the situation, in a time of exchange that I invite it to have. I am committed to the autonomy of the federations being a reality and every time the governing bodies take their responsibilities, I consider it a victory for French sport," said Amélie Oudéa-Castera during a press conference at the ministry's headquarters.

"There are eminent personalities within the Comex who have demonstrated their value, their efficiency, their vision and their sense of responsibility. I know that they will demonstrate this again in the weeks to come and that they will be able to weigh in to put this Federation back on the right track,” she added.

The minister had previously started the press conference with a violent charge against the boss of the FFF, noting "a bankruptcy on the function of representation with words that are seriously failing".

"I don't want these situations where it's tripping anymore," she said.

"He got us used to going off the road. I think we all have in mind what has been said in recent years, words that minimized the risks, sometimes the prevalence of the phenomena of racism and homophobia in football. , which may have shocked communities", recalled the Minister.

"I consider that these successive exits from the road not only have the effect of creating frying on the line, they also harm the image of our country and offend the French," she added.

On Sunday, Noël Le Graët had discourteous words towards Zinédine Zidane on RMC, sparking an avalanche of indignant reactions.

"I don't care, he can go where he wants," said the 81-year-old leader, when asked about Zidane's future, whom he would "not even have taken on the phone" if he had shown interest in the post of coach of the Blues.

Faced with the controversy, Le Graët apologized personally Monday in a press release.

"Critical Moment"

Regarding the audit and control mission carried out by the Ministry of Sports to clarify the malfunctions at the FFF, the Minister specified that a section concerning "HR, budgetary and financial issues" would be added to those relating to practices. management of the Federation and the fight against sexual and gender-based violence.

While Mr. Le Graët and the director general of the FFF Florence Hardouin S must be heard on Tuesday, Amélie Oudéa-Castera announced that she wanted to bring forward the restitution of the conclusions of the audit to "end of January", instead of February 15.

“The Comex will have material on the behavior of the president, she specified. We are at a critical moment for the future of this federation. I consider that the employees and the great players deserve better than what they have today at the head of this federation."

Finally, the Minister of Sports indicated that President Emmanuel Macron had been "disappointed" and "shocked" by the comments made about Zidane.

© 2023 AFP