Noël Le Graët: "The VAR does not thrill me"

Colin Abgrall 8:58 p.m., March 05, 2022

EXCLUSIVE

Noël Le Graët is a football man, but not only.

Former president of En Avant de Guingamp, the Professional Football League of Paris FC and since 2011 of the FFF, he also created in 1984 his own agri-food company, taken over since 2015 by his daughters.

Exclusively for Europe 1, the 80-year-old Breton gives his impressions of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, looks back on his career, talks about the future of Didier Deschamps and also analyzes the current presidential campaign.

On the War in Ukraine: "Imagining a war seemed impossible"

"I believe that for each and every one of us, imagining a war seemed completely impossible. That there would be clashes between countries, differences in appreciation on such and such a subject. tanks in a town and shelling. So when it's a country that's not a member of NATO, which is right on the European borders, France and NATO have to take positions. country attacked, it is Ukraine, whether we like it or not. We can always find a thousand excuses but it is Ukraine that has been attacked in the last few days."

On the sports sanctions addressed to Russia: "FIFA is indisputable"

"I regret these kinds of things because in general, sport is an argument for peace. I have often tried to bring together countries that were in conflict, to organize a match. It did not always work. But It's a much more serious case. You've seen few situations like this in recent years. So, that Russia is penalized by world authorities, it's indisputable. What makes me happy, is that the two bodies (FIFA and UEFA), which often have small disagreements, have taken the joint decision to give a firm position. That pleases me because these are two important bodies. FIFA is indisputable and UEFA in Europe is indisputable. So that the two have made this decision, it makes me rather happy."

Mbappé and PSG: "I would like him to stay in Paris" 

"I see him often, you can imagine. Very often. I would like him to stay in Paris, it's a banal answer. He's still young. I don't see what he can find of bigger than Paris. Paris has a huge margin for improvement, as much as the Spanish clubs today. I can't see him in England. I may be wrong. But he's a Parisian. He plays ball well. He is esteemed. Technically, he is very, very strong. He is handsome. And he is happy in Paris. He can last another three or four years at PSG.

What part of his career was the most exciting: "You don't do anything alone"

"You know, we don't do anything alone. I was lucky to have good friends, people who shared the same desires. So, we certainly had a somewhat atypical journey despite everything, but overall very passionate case, with legitimate desires. Football was part of my very young life. Then, creating a business is exciting and very hard. But I'll tell you something: football is harder. A business , you climb or you feel you can't do it and you can modify. In football, I have climbed like that sometimes, but sometimes I have setbacks. You have to be accountable, even if it's It's a small town, full of people."

"No matter how hard you work, sometimes you make mistakes. You will make decisions, for example at the federation, not to keep Laurent Blanc and put Didier. Today, everyone finds it great, but I would like to give you the papers of the time. You will be a little surprised at what you read. Defend. Believe that Corinne (Deacon, coach of the France women's team) is the best. I didn't have supporters every day. "I don't read social media because it blows your mind. But now most people are starting to recognize it. Being 18 games unbeaten isn't so bad."

The return of Benzema: "I was waiting for that"

"I wasn't angry with Benzema. It's a mistake. I often saw Benzema when he wasn't playing. He even came home to Paris to chat. So I never put up a barrier so that Benzema does not play, on the contrary. There is surely an error of interpretation, of understanding. Then, when Didier said to me 'listen, frankly, he is so on top, I will take him back.'

I told him I was just waiting for that."

After Deschamps: "Let the World Cup pass"

"We have to discuss. Didier came here after the European Championship, we spent the day. Usually, I extend before a big competition. Didier, for the moment, does not show any weariness in the competition or in the believes that the players have for him. Let's skip our two important competitions. The summer one (the Nations League) where there are still four games. And then let's skip the World Cup."

Could Christophe Galtier become a coach?

“He is an excellent French coach”

"Obviously, Galtier too. Look at what he did, this man. I barely knew him. I have to be honest. Or at least not at this level. What he did in Lille and what he is doing in Nice deserves respect. He is an excellent French coach. There are good coaches on our territory. Anyway, if I was still in post and Didier had to leave us, which is far from done, it will be a Frenchman anyway."

Friendlies against South Africa and against Cameroon: "I'm delighted"

"For a while, we can no longer play Africa. And that annoys me. I often see rapprochements being made between Europe and South America. I don't mind. Except that we have only ten dates left. Meeting an African country is impossible. So, we are bringing two of them at once. I am delighted and I would indeed like future calendars to allow us to meet our African friends. Many have criticized the CAN. I believe that there are one hundred and sixty-nine players in our championship who play in Africa. The CAN is a remarkable competition that must be played without any criticism. When we take them, we know that we risk certain absences during A few days."

His position on violence in the stadiums: "We have to rehash an awareness"

is that we harp on a good awareness.

A football match is a show, it's a game and we must indeed respect the actors."

Sanctions too low?

“We can surely do better”

You are surely right since most of our clubs are so well equipped in terms of the possibility of recognizing the face of Pierre, Paul or Jacques.

Surely we can do better, but it can't last.

It will be necessary to ensure that in the months to come, in the days to come, people remain seated.

Already, it's a real pleasure to be able to go to the stadium for a month or two.

It's a real pleasure to attend a meeting and I think it's time to stop this stupid rivalry, which turns into a fight.

On the VAR: "I'm not thrilled"

"In fact, I'm for respect for refereeing. VAR is good. It's good but I'm not excited. Is there undeniable progress? Come on, maybe - to be on a goal on offside. I believe that everyone must make an effort and it shows above all that the referee, the one who has the responsibility, must remain the boss and not remain seven minutes waiting to say 'So, what do you think, Pierre? And you, Paul?'

During this time, we are ridiculous. The referee must decide and can make mistakes, like the players, like the leaders, like all of us. I prefer that the referee be the boss of the match and that he don't ask questions every five minutes. He's the boss. We have to train them even better,

His role as president of the French Football Federation: "We must not make too many mistakes"

"Being president of the federation is an honor. You must not make too many mistakes. If you do not fulfill the mission which is yours, you must know how to leave. In my business, I had a lot of happiness. So business and football have been part of my life."

His political opinions and his analysis of the current left: "There is no strong personality"

"I was elected left-wing mayor in Guingamp for 13 years and I voted for Macron twice. I think he is the best president. I think he is doing well, that he is succeeding in a context extremely complicated to keep a strong personality to show that France exists. There are other candidates who express themselves. As far as the left is concerned, I'm sorry. I thought it was better before. See the left with two and a half or three%, that seems rather improbable to me.The mayor of Paris is on the left, we have a lot of small municipalities on the left, but there is no personality.

"I think Macron has exhausted the right and exhausted the left. Besides, there is no strong personality capable of competing. But is there any need to compete with Macron? Seeing the left so low, It bothers me. It will come back. You know, politics is a bit of an eternal thing. It goes around in circles. It won't be the same left and especially not the same right, I hope. But it will come. It's better when people have ideas to debate. I love watching the debates. You are often disappointed because you want whoever the candidate is to be up to the task."