Under-fire French FA boss calls extraordinary meeting amid pressure to step aside
Under-fire French Football Federation chief Noel Le Graet
has called an extraordinary meeting of the organisation for Wednesday, at which
he is expected to offer an explanation for controversial comments about
Zinedine Zidane which have led to a barrage of criticism and calls for him to
resign.
The 81-year-old is also in the firing line as the FFF is
being audited by the French government following accusations made against Le
Graet late last year that he had mistreated employees at the Paris-based body.
On Sunday, Le Graet created a storm when he said he
"wouldn't even have taken his call" when asked whether France World
Cup-winning legend Zidane had rung him to express an interest in taking over as
coach from Didier Deschamps.
Deschamps, in charge since 2012, was out of contract after
leading France to last month's World Cup final in Qatar but last weekend signed
a new deal to stay through to 2026.
Members of the FFF's executive committee were unhappy at not
being warned in advance of the new contract for Deschamps, with Zidane having
long been seen as an ideal candidate to succeed his old France teammate.
Meanwhile on Tuesday Le Graet's behaviour at the head of the
federation again came under the spotlight with a female football agent making
accusations of unwanted sexual advances by the veteran administrator in an
interview with sports daily L'Equipe.
Le Graet has been president since 2011 and his current
mandate runs until 2024.
He will not leave before then unless he decides to step down, or if he loses the support of his executive committee.
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