L’Équipe report that Aline Riera, a former defender, turned pundit, and member of the FFF’s executive board, has accused president Noël Le Graët of inappropriate behaviour towards Women’s national team manager Corinne Diacre.
Riera spoke at the end of the board meeting on January 19 to outline his alleged repeated instances of inappropriate comments, such as calling women “my love”.
She also recalled an instance when Diacre had met Le Graët, where the former greeted him with a kiss on the cheek and the latter allegedly responded that he would have preferred a kiss on the lips, an incident which is said to have caused slight unease. Riera also explained that she had heard inappropriate comments from Le Graët at the end of FFF meetings, and notably at dinners.
The former defender had asked for her comments not to be transcribed into commitee meeting, but they were nevertheless reported back to the president, who immediately called her up to reproach her for her allegations. She then sent an email to all of the members of the board indicating that she would abstain from commenting moving forward, and lamented that “it’s clear that some in this group are not worthy of my trust”, in reference to the fact that her accusations, which she says were “deformed” were reported to the president.
Neither Riera nor Le Graët chose to comment when contacted by L’Équipe, while Diacre did not respond.
The FA chief is currently under investigation for alleged bullying and sexual harassment following evidence passed on by investigators carrying out a government-mandated audit into the organisation, which was called following a So Foot report in September which notably accused Le Graët of sending inappropriate text messages to colleagues – which he has denied. He has since been the subject of more accusations, with football agent Sonia Souid accusing him of inappropriate advances.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin
