“I will not let myself be intimidated”, assures the minister, ready to take legal action

“I will not be intimidated”, assures this Wednesday on franceinfo the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra after Noël Le Graët announced his intention to file a complaint against her for defamation. “It’s frankly ridiculous and really not up to par”, she believes. “All of these are attempts at diversion. Talking nonsense is a bit like the last line of defense they have left, but that’s not fooling anyone.”

>> “It’s a real manipulation of information” accuses the lawyer of Noël Le Graët

If you have to go to court, “I will do it”assures the minister on franceinfo. “In any case, I will defend myself.” Accused of “manipulation of information”to have been “judge and party” or even of having presented a truncated version of the final audit by the resigning president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Amélie Oudéa-Castéra defends a “rigorous and methodical work that was done for four months”.

“I never called Noël Le Graët a stalker”explains the Minister of Sports. “It was on the basis of the report which was made in complete independence by the inspectors of the IGSR mission that the prosecution decided that there was reason to open an investigation for sexual harassment and moral harassment. now is the investigation and the judge who will say what is going on and who will establish the qualification of the facts.

“Football deserves better”

Concerning the summary of the report made public, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra recalls that she “carries absolutely all the important conclusions. It has this sentence which evokes remarks and text messages emanating from Mr. Le Graët, ambiguous for some and of a clearly sexual nature for others. It is neither more nor less than these elements which I returned to the letter during my press conference. Mr. Le Graët is himself the recipient of a more complete version of the report and the justice system has all the elements in its hands.”

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra now wishes “turn the page”. “Football deserves better”she thinks, turning to “the next democratic deadlines which will be important” at the head of the FFF. In a press release, the Federation explained on Tuesday that the interim will be provided by Philippe Diallo until “June 10, 2023, date of the next federal assembly”.

The Minister of Sports insists on “the deep dysfunctions” which will have to be dealt with by then. “There are important elements, particularly in terms of the fight and prevention of gender-based and sexual violence, which it is important that the FFF can now seize to move this issue forward.”