An investigation will be opened into the management of the Ice Sports Federation by Didier Gailhaguet

An investigation, in particular for breach of trust, will be opened on the management of the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG) by Didier Gailhaguet, revealed the Paris prosecutor’s office on Tuesday June 6. This preliminary investigation follows a recent report from the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) which alerted, among other things, to improper use of the federation’s bank card and a lack of transparency of contracts under the governance of the former omnipotent president of the FFSG. Contacted, the lawyer for the ex-skater did not respond immediately to AFP.

Among the facts reported to the courts are “inappropriate expenses and sometimes without supporting documents”a “lack of transparency in the management of certain contracts (…) with companies historically linked to the FFSG, for sometimes very high costs”of the “non-regulatory methods of remuneration of high-level athletes and the activities of undeclared sports agents” or “threats and attempts to intimidate the current leaders”.

The inspection on governance under Didier Gailhaguet had been decided in the wake of the election of the current president of the FFSG, Gwenaëlle Noury, in May 2022, very strongly suspected of having been guided by her predecessor. The latter is officially no longer at the helm of the federation for three years, after being forced to resign for covering up a coach implicated in rape and sexual assault. These suspicions darken the horizon of the FFSG, which continues to sink into the crisis since the winter of 2020 and the Sarah Abitbol affair, the champion who said she was raped as a teenager by her former coach Gilles Beyer .