After his resignation, Noël Le Graët wants to file a complaint against the French Minister of Sports
Former FFF president Noël Le Graët, here on the right in Paris on July 12, 2016, has announced that he wants to sue French Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, here on the left in Paris on February 15, 2023, for “defamation” .
© Ludovic Marin & Alain Jocard / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
After finally giving in and resigning Tuesday, February 28 from the presidency of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët counterattacked by accusing the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra of having "lied" on the accusations
of
harassment aimed at him, and announcing his intention to file a complaint for defamation.
The minister, she said Wednesday, March 1 to have “
never accused of harassment
”.
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Leaving
after more than eleven years of reign tarnished by these accusations
, the now ex-president of the FFF had his lawyer announce his intention to "
sue for defamation
(Mrs. Oudéa-Castera)
before the Court of Justice of the Republic
".
Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said on Wednesday on RTL that she found this approach "
distressing": "I never insulted anyone, I remained polite, I never accused him of harassment
“, she replied, recalling that a
preliminary investigation had been opened
for acts of moral and sexual harassment against the president of the FFF.
French football deserves better.
pic.twitter.com/eAu1wIWIsl
— Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (@AOC1978) March 1, 2023
Still as unpredictable, the
81-year-old "Menhir" of French football, president of the League from 1991 to 2000 then of the FFF since 2011, has long persisted in remaining in office and has been slow to hand over
,
thirteen
days
after the communication of a damning audit report for him, commissioned by the Ministry of Sports.
"
The mission was the subject of numerous political interference, in particular from the Minister of Sports who violated her obligation of impartiality
", reacted Le Graët in an interview with the daily
Le Monde
, where he denounced an "
incredible hype
" and a “
well-organized political-media cabal
”.
His lawyer Thierry Marembert announced in parallel on France 5 that his client would request
the "cancellation
" of the audit report before the administrative court, accusing the inspectors of having "been
manipulated, forced by their minister
".
Inspectors from the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) considered in this report that Le Graët "no
longer has
the
legitimacy necessary to administer and represent French football
", given in particular his "
inappropriate behavior
(...)
towards women
".
“
It is the prosecutor who has decided sovereignly to open an investigation
”
“
NLG
”, targeted since mid-January by a preliminary investigation for moral and sexual harassment, was categorical with Le
Monde
on these accusations: “
There is no complaint against me and I did not attack anyone.
»
The Minister refuted the accusations of a "
cabal
": "
We did a thorough job over four months, respecting the contradictory views of each of the parties
", she said, and "
I will not let the quality of the work that has been done
”, she added while the lawyers of Noël Le Graët wish to challenge the report of the IGESR which was delivered in mid-February.
"
It is the prosecutor who has decided sovereignly to open an investigation for acts of moral and sexual harassment
" on the basis of this inspection report, she recalled.
The minister reiterated on RTL what she had declared at a press conference: "
The mission
(of inspection, editor's note)
evokes remarks and text messages emanating from Mr. Le Graët, ambiguous for some and of a clearly sexual nature for others
”.
At the Federation on Tuesday, February 28, the leader's resignation was accompanied by compliments from his peers on the FFF's Executive Committee.
(With AFP)
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