IGESR inspectors submitted their final audit report on the French Football Federation on Wednesday. They consider in particular that “the excesses of behavior” of Noël Le Graët “are incompatible” with his functions.
“I think the end of President Le Graët’s mandate is near”estimated Wednesday February 15 on franceinfo Patrick Anton, the president of the National Council of Ethics of the FFF after a summary of the final audit on the functioning of the FFF confirms today that “behavioral deviations” of Christmas Le Graët are “incompatible” with the functions of president of the FFF.
>> French Football Federation: what the final audit report on Noël Le Graët reveals
This report was submitted to the Minister of Sports. For the president of the National Ethics Council of the FFF, “there are too many problems listed at the end of this report”. On Comex’s responsibility, Patrick Anton considers “that one can ask the question whether they should not have acted because it is probable that a certain number of facts were brought to their attention.”
franceinfo: Can Noël Le Graët still remain at the head of the Federation after these conclusions?
Patrick Anthony: Yes, since it is he who will make the decision, but it is obvious that after all the facts which have been stated by the minister and which are only the resumption of the preliminary report, I think that the end of President Le Graët’s mandate is near. . There are too many problems listed at the end of this report.
There would be only one that it would already be important but there we still have a problem of governance, a problem of inappropriate behavior with women and towards alcohol, public declarations… There are too many reasons , from my point of view, which means that he must now give way to his successor. Now the question is: under what conditions will the transition take place?
It is a question here both of the image of Noël Le Graët but also more broadly of the image of French football and the functioning of the whole Federation, how to get out of this situation? What are the scenarios?
The scenarios, we have known them for a while, they are only statutory scenarios. It is either, if he does not resign, the resignation of the entire Comex which would lead to a new general meeting and therefore the election of a new president and a new list. Either it is a summons at the request of the High Football Authority. Either it is a request of 25% of the electors, that is to say the districts and the leagues. Or finally – which could concern us more personally at the National Ethics Committee – a transmission which will be made of the file by the Comex to the Ethics Committee with a view to a disciplinary sanction. I remind you that the Ethics Committee does not have the possibility of sanctioning, it only has the power to direct a case to a Disciplinary Commission, whether or not it is responsible for sanctioning.
All of Noël Le Graët’s speeches in recent weeks reflect a misunderstanding on his part vis-à-vis the situation, has it changed over time?
I don’t know if the situation has changed since we haven’t heard from the president. I have no contact with him. But I hope it has evolved. Only the Comex will allow us to say whether he actually made the decision to resign.
“What I fear is that despite everything, there is a loss of lucidity in this man which means that he may not make the decision to resign. We will be fixed very quickly.”
Patrick Anton, the president of the National Ethics Council of the FFFat franceinfo
It took an audit commissioned by the Ministry of Sports to reveal a reality that the members of the Executive Committee could have seen. Isn’t there a form of collective responsibility in this situation?
Indeed, one can ask the question whether they should not have acted because it is likely that a certain number of facts were brought to their attention. Now, everyone knows that President Le Graët operated in a bit of a dictatorial way and that he did not necessarily let the members of the Comex speak enough to give their point of view.
If a general meeting takes place and there are new elections then it is necessary to take advantage of this to have an extraordinary general meeting with a modification of the statutes. And in the modifications that will occur, there is one that seems essential to me, it is that we stop the system of blocked lists, that is to say that the one who seeks the place of president comes with his list of members , so you need a list with a proportional like that happens in some Federations. There have to be checks and balances.