“I hope you have good memories of this audition. » It is with these words that Béatrice Bellamy, MP (Horizons) for Vendée, ended the hearing of Didier Deschamps, Thursday November 2, by the commission of inquiry into the failures of sports federations.
In the basement of the National Assembly, the said commission questioned the coach of the French men’s football team for more than an hour on a myriad of subjects: from racism in the sport to the fight against violence. sexual and sexist, including the clashes which marred the Ligue 1 match between Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais on the evening of Sunday October 29. The case of Karim Benzema or the serious governance crisis experienced during the winter of 2022-2023 by the French Football Federation (FFF) and the fall of its president Noël Le Graët, who resigned in February, were also discussed.
From the outset, “DD” set the scene by delimiting the contours of its field of action. “I am an employee of the FFF of course, but I am not at the headquarters daily or regularly, said the Bayonnais, at the head of the Blues since July 2012. I have an office, but I come there occasionally when there are lists of selected players to communicate, or when I am requested by my president. I don’t follow the traditional functioning of the FFF on a daily basis. »
King of dodging, the boss of the Tricolores kicked in when he was questioned about the implementation by the management of the body, in 2021, of a controversial social plan (around twenty positions eliminated) and whose “chaotic management” was singled out, in February 2023, by an audit by the general inspectorate of education, sport and research.
“I am a private employee with a particular function, but I am unable to answer youretorted the one who has the highest salary at the FFF. I get emails from staff, I don’t read them all. I am not concerned by everything that may happen, not that I want to differentiate myself, but it is not my responsibility nor my competence to give an opinion or participate in these decisions. »
“I made sure to stay in my field”
“Do you know when Philippe Diallo [président de la FFF depuis juin] became vice-president of the FFF and joined the executive committee? », asked the rapporteur Sabrina Sebaihi (Europe Ecologie-Les Verts, Hauts-de-Seine). Mr. Diallo did not tell the truth during his hearing before the commission on Friday October 27, claiming that he was ” treasurer ” of the body, during the fiasco of the FFF toll-free number intended for victims of violence, when he was, in reality, vice-president.
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