“I would clearly prefer his resignation to procedures which would put him out”, urges the president of the National Ethics Council

Wait until the end of February to look into the fate of Christmas Le Graët is “far too late” And “It is urgent to take action”, said Thursday, February 16, the president of the National Ethics Council (CNE), Patrick Anton, calling on the president of the FFF to resign. The CNE “has not yet met but the tendency is to ask for his resignation” since the General Inspectorate’s report clearly established that it “no longer had the legitimacy to lead a sports federation”says its president to AFP.

“Our lever to us, if he does not resign, it will be to bring him before a disciplinary committee in order to initiate a procedure which can go as far as expulsion”says Patrick Anton, reluctant to activate this process for someone who was once “a great leader”. “I would much prefer resignation to procedures that would kick him out. He would go out the back door even more, and it is already narrow. It would ruin everything he has done for French football and we won’t be talking about him in a few months or years than by the negative aspect”he insists.

“Few people still want Noël Le Graët at the head of the Federation”

The President of the CNE “regret“that the next federal executive committee, supposed to decide on the fate of Le Graët, has been set for February 28 and not in the wake of the publication of the report, as initially planned.

“It’s much too late”, he said. “As much as it was urgent to wait before tabling the report, today it is urgent to act. Philippe Diallo is no longer the interim president, Noël Le Graët has become the president again. However, few people still want him at the head of the Federation. Above all, football must continue to turn. But here we are in the doldrums”.

“Resigning would be a fairly honorable exit. We are closing the page and working on the future. This crisis has shown that there are things to do, to modify, especially in terms of governance”he insists.