Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas has said that he believes that Noël Le Graët is ready to step down as president of the France Football Federation (FFF) in order to preserve the institution.
In an interview with L’Équipe, the Lyon president, who is in regular contact with Le Graët, said that he believes that the FFF president is ready to step back from his role. L’Équipe reported yesterday that Le Graët was set to resign in the wake of the government-mandated audit into the FFF, which notably accuses him of multiple instances of sexual harassment. The auditors’ findings have been passed on to the authorities and prosecutors have opened an investigation over “bullying and sexual harassment.” Le Graët denies the accusations.
Le Graët took a step back from his role at the start of January after dismissive comments about the chances of Zinédine Zidane managing the France national team. An FFF executive board meeting will take place on Tuesday, with Le Graët expected to resign.
Aulas has now confirmed that he believes that resignation is Le Graët’s intention. “I think that it might be in his interest to step back to make his defence and to be able to explain, in terms of what he has been accused of, what is acceptable from his point of view, and what isn’t. I really hope that he is in the mindset of wanting to put the FFF’s interests over his own… I think that he won’t add his personal problem to the Federation, which for him comes before everything. Noël wants to put the FFF’s interest before his own,” he said.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
