The French Football Federation have confirmed that Noel Le Graet has resigned from his role as president.
81-year-old Le Graet has faced significant controversies in recent years, with his behaviour both on and off the field angering many involved with French football.
Public disputes with Karim Benzema over his role with the national team were common in years gone by, while Le Graet also recently attracted real criticism with his alleged disrespect towards Zinedine Zidane, to whom he insisted he would not have even answered the phone if he was interested in taking over the team.
Behind the scenes, Le Graet’s personal life has been critiqued and a recent audit into accusations of bullying and harrassment inside the FFF left the veteran official’s position untenable.
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“Noel Le Graet announced today to the Executive Committee of the French Football Federation his decision to leave his functions,” an FFF statement read. “Philippe Diallo, vice-president, will act as interim president of the FFF until June 10, 2023, date of the next federal assembly.
“Regarding the audit of the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), the FFF notes that this report does not mention any systemic failure, nor any breach of its sovereign missions. The FFF nevertheless notes that this report is based less on objective facts than on assessments which have sometimes led to a disproportionate denigration of the body.”
Le Graet’s resignation ends a 12-year spell at the head of the FFF which oversaw victory in the 2018 World Cup and runs to the finals of both Euro 2016 on home soil and the 2022 World Cup.
