Romain Rouillard
modified to
09:17, January 10, 2023
A few words spoken by Noël Le Graët this Sunday on RMC will have been enough to set the world of sport ablaze. From Kylian Mbappé to Franck Ribéry via the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, everyone condemned the comments made by the boss of the French Football Federation against Zinédine Zidane. Asked about a possible takeover of the former number 10 of the Blues at the head of the Brazilian selection, the 81-year-old leader kicked into touch and indicated that he had “nothing to shake” from the subject. He even assured that he would not have “even taken the former Real Madrid coach on the phone” if he had come forward to replace Didier Deschamps, finally extended until 2026 at the head of the Blues.
For several months, Noël Le Graët has been multiplying this kind of controversial outings, to the point that some are insistently demanding his departure from the FFF with which his mandate runs until 2024. Nevertheless, for the time being, the horizon appears rather cleared for “NLG” whose position at the head of the body does not frankly seem threatened.
The status of the FFF prevents the State from intervening
If Amélie Oudéa-Castéra gave a layer of it on Monday, ensuring that “our players deserve better than what they have at the head of the Federation”, she does not have the power to dismiss the former mayor of Guingamp from his chair. Blame the very status of the French Football Federation, which operates on the model of an association.
Thus, only the members of said association can vote in favor of the departure of their leader. In this specific case, it would then be necessary for the members of the executive committee (Comex) of the FFF to meet in an extraordinary general meeting in order to ratify a vote of no confidence. If necessary, Philippe Diallo, vice-president of the authority, would ensure the interim until the end of the contract of Noël Le Graët before the holding of new elections.
Consequently, the government, through the voice of the Ministry of Sports, finds itself powerless. A situation that is strongly reminiscent of the case of Didier Gailhaguet, former president of the French Figure Skating Federation, accused of having hidden various sexual abuse scandals under the carpet. At the time, Roxana Maracineanu, predecessor of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, had simply called on the person concerned to resign. “The case of Mr. Gailhaguet is simply a volunteer president of an association who is asked to take on his responsibilities. Indeed, the federation is an association. The statutes specify that it is the authority of its federal council who can dismiss its president”, she indicated then.
Fifa keeps watch
More recently, the case of Bernard Laporte has raised similar issues. Sentenced to a two-year suspended prison sentence for corruption, the president of the French Rugby Federation – who has since withdrawn from the proceedings – could not have been directly dismissed by the Ministry of Sports, which had had to settle for putting pressure on the former coach of the XV of France.
With regard to Noël Le Graët, in the event that the executive exceeds its prerogatives by announcing his dismissal, the FFF would expose itself to sanctions from Fifa which punishes any political interference within the Federations. This could go as far as the pure and simple exclusion of the French teams from all international competition. Clearly, only a vote of no confidence from the Comex of the FFF or a resignation of the principal concerned are able to bring about change at the head of the FFF.