The French Football Federation has announced that president Noel Le Graet will "withdraw" from his duties after becoming caught up in a storm of controversy.
The 81-year-old, who has held the position since 2011, was recently asked about the prospect of Zinedine Zidane managing the French team after Didier Deschamps extended his contract until 2026.
Le Graet stated that he would not bother to pick up the phone if the former Real Madrid manager called, leading to widespread condemnation of his comments from prominent figures.
Kylian Mbappe publicly voiced his disapproval of Le Graet's comments towards Zidane, and the French FA chief issued an apology earlier this week.
Le Graet has also been accused of improper conduct by agent Sonia Souid, who claimed that the 81-year-old made numerous sexual advances towards her over a number of years.
An investigation from magazine So Foot also alleged that Le Graet had sexually harassed a number of other female employees, leading the FFF to file a defamation lawsuit against the publication.
An emergency meeting was called on Wednesday to address the recent events, and a press release confirmed that Le Graet would step back from his duties as investigations into the accusations continued, although he is not thought to be stepping down entirely.
© Reuters
"Noel Le Graet, in agreement with the Executive Committee of the FFF meeting today in Paris, has chosen to withdraw from his duties as President of the Federation until the final communication of the audit carried out by the Ministry of Sports, and awaiting its analysis by the Comex [Executive Committee] of the FFF," a statement read.
However, Executive Committee member Eric Borghini said that Le Graet denies the allegations against him and once again wanted to express remorse for his comments about Zidane.
"We got to the bottom of things. We started by listening to our president, who started the Comex by telling us 'I have nothing done, I swear on your head to all that I did nothing and the audit report will be very positive for me, there will be nothing against me'," RMC Sport quotes Borghini as saying.
"He then apologized to us for the remarks made on Zinedine Zidane, remarks that he does not believe, he is aware of what he represents for French and world football.
"He admitted that he had made a mistake, had an uncontrolled communication. He sent a letter to Zinedine asking him for a meeting. He apologized to him and to us.
"Noel understood perfectly that the status quo was impossible. Given the media frenzy, given the political expectations, given the state of public opinion, the status quo was impossible. He offered to step aside, until the audit report was considered by the executive committee."
Vice-president Philippe Diallo will act as interim president of the FFF until further notice.
Ben Knapton
