What fly under LSD stung Noël Le Graët so that he would go and dump a heap of rubbish on the idol Zinédine Zidane, free of charge, on Sunday evening, at prime time, on the airwaves of RMC?

Invited to speak on the extension of Didier Deschamps at the head of the France team, the day after the very good course of the Blues at the World Cup in Qatar, the president of the French Football Federation embarked on one man show as heartbreaking as it is abject when discussing the case of Zidane, designated successor to DD on the tricolor bench when the latter agrees to give up his throne.

After having explained with the tact that we know him that he had "nothing to shake" that Zidane could have to fall back on the selection of Brazil after the extension in Blue of DD, NLG continued by affirming that if the Z had called him he wouldn't have "even picked up" his phone.

Words of incredible violence towards the icon of French football whose only fault was to declare himself interested in taking over from Deschamps on the bench of the France team.

Until then, however, Le Graët had never shown any animosity towards the former Real Madrid coach.

Not so long ago, he even explained on RTL that he had "very good personal relations with Zidane", adding that "if Didier Deschamps stopped and if I was still in place, the first person I see [to replace him], it's Zidane, of course".

More and more regular skids

Therefore, how to understand this exit to the bazooka of Breton, at the very moment when the FFF crosses a zone of turbulence after the revelations of

So Foot

on the supposed inappropriate behavior of Le Graët with regard to certain employees of the Fed, and then that the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra has launched an internal audit whose conclusions are expected within a few weeks?

Tossed about from all sides, in open conflict with its general manager Florence Hardouin, Le Graët seems to take all this as a joke, sure of his influence and his power, he who did not hesitate to publicly mock the Minister of Sports by suggesting that he had subdued some of the toughest ones.

Aged 81, the former mayor of Guingamp no longer has the slightest filter when it comes to expressing himself publicly.

Noël Le Graët is not freewheeling, he is freewheeling.

Over the months, by dint of slippages just as scandalous as each other, NLG has become the famous embarrassing uncle of football France, the one who makes us cry blood and makes us want to tear our hair out every time. that he gives his opinion on such and such a sporting or societal subject.

From the racism that "does not exist in football" to the famous "paint strokes" that it would be enough to give in the slums that serve as accommodation for migrant workers in Qatar before the World Cup, NLG continues to make life difficult for members of the FFF communication department.

Sunday evening, they must have fallen backwards when they heard their boss on the program “Bartoli Time” on RMC.

At present, moreover, no one seems to have any hold on the boss of 3F, except his wife, who tried to reason with him while he was rambling live on the radio.

“My wife tells me 'Christmas, calm down!'

“, he will say, laughing as if the situation lent itself to lightness.

Le Graët officially apologizes

Monday morning, while the indignant reactions followed one another on the channel, from Kylian Mbappé to Franck Ribéry via Real Madrid or the Minister of Sports, the Costaarmorican published a press release to clear the field.

"I would like to apologize for these remarks which absolutely do not reflect my thoughts, nor my consideration for the player he was and the coach he has become", thus affirms the boss of French football, not without accusing the journalist accompanying Marion Bartoli on the set of RMC.

“I gave an interview to RMC that I should not have given because he was looking for controversy by opposing Didier to Zinédine Zidane, two monuments of French football.

I admit that I made some awkward remarks which created a misunderstanding.

Zinédine Zidane knows the immense esteem that I have for him, like all French people.

This act of contrition, which looks more like a shot of a water gun to put out a forest fire, will it be enough to calm things down?

It is permissible to doubt it.

Especially since the words of Le Graët against Zidane are not the only ones to have shocked in the ten big minutes of interview granted to the former tennis player converted to host at RMC.

Accused anonymously by former and current employees of the FFF of gritty text messages and other tendentious proposals that may be akin to sexual harassment, the former president of En Avant de Guingamp, who is also auditioned this Monday as part of of internal audit, could not help slipping a sweet note to Marion Bartoli, inviting her to call her personally whenever she wants.

A president who has become too embarrassing

Finally, in response to a question about the end of his mandate at the head of the Federation, at the end of 2024, NLG declared most calmly in the world that he was discussing it one-on-one with Didier Deschamps and that his successor "will be designated very quickly”.

Although he made up for it by specifying "there will be an election, it's not a designation", he nevertheless let it be understood that he would have his say and that he would play a role in this process, which greatly questions his conception of democracy in the Federation.

It remains to be seen whether this umpteenth slippage – if indeed it can be called that as this type of speech is an integral part of the normal functioning of the character – does not risk precipitating his fall sooner than expected.

According to the rumors of the corridors at the Ministry of Sports, we would sign with both hands so that the man in office since 2010, the day after the Knysna fiasco, passes the baton quickly.

If the Minister of Sports does not have the power to dismiss a president of the Federation, legitimately re-elected in March 2021 with 73.02% of the vote, it is not excluded that the pressure put on Noël Le Graët in recent hours will not forces him to go away on his own.

After all, it's never too late to face the facts, put on your apron, put on your slippers and sit quietly with a herbal tea in front of Mo-mo-motus.

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