The National Council of Ethics of the French Football Federation called on Noel Le Graet, President of the French Football Federation, to submit his immediate resignation from the agency, in light of the whirlwind that arose around him at the beginning, from his sensational statements against the French star Zinedine Zidane and the accusations of sexual harassment that affected him.
Le Graet received harsh criticism from most of the football components in the country against the backdrop of his statements in a press interview about Zidane, in which he said that he "would not have answered his phone call if he had called him."
An invitation to leave
In a statement to the French newspaper "L'Equipe", Patrick Anton, head of the National Council of Ethics, broke his silence and finally decided to take a position on the crisis, and called on Le Graet to "submit his resignation from the presidency of the federation."
🇫🇷 The Haute Autorité du Football observe pour l'instant la situation à la FFF.
Elle a le pouvoir de convoquer une assemblée générale extraordinaire de la FFF pour demander la révocation de l'ensemble du Comex. https://t.co/2PItPVmqYy pic.twitter.com/ixz64532Jj
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He added, "We need a strong and calm administrative apparatus, and the situation of the federation today, unfortunately, is not like that."
The same spokesman denied his committee's intention to present Le Graet to the disciplinary committee, but stressed that "we can only ask him to withdraw, in the interest of French football."
"tired man"
Anton believes that Le Graet, 81, who has presided over the federation since 2011, is really tired "and is no longer the right man capable of managing the federation," as he put it, adding, "It is really time for him to pass the torch to someone else."
Anton concluded, "Le Graet's recent statements confirm that he has lost much of his sobriety. He is a tired man, and he needs to rest. In order to manage a football association that includes more than two million members, he needs calm and sobriety, which is what the current president has lost."
A few days ago, Le Graet made headlines in the French press and got into a big whirlwind against the background of statements he made against football legend Zinedine Zidane, before he later apologized for them.
Le Graet said in radio statements that he "does not care where Zidane will go and will not even bother answering his phone call if he calls him," in response to a question about whether he nominated Zidane to coach the France national team.
A whirlwind in France
Le Graet's statement angered the French street, and great stars expressed their dissatisfaction with the insult to the French football legend, the last of whom was the star of the first team and the Paris Saint-Germain team, Kylian Mbappe, who said in a famous tweet that "Zidane is France, we cannot underestimate it." Respect with a legend that way."
For her part, French Sports Minister Emily Audia Castera strongly criticized what was issued by Noel Le Graet, and demanded that he make a public apology to Zidane.
The uproar about the president of the federation did not stop at this point, as the players' agent, Sonia Suwaid, made sensational statements accusing Le Graet of sexually harassing her through text messages containing inappropriate phrases.