The prosecutor's office, in a message to AP, said that an investigation was launched against Noel Le Graet, French soccer federation president on Monday. This came on the back of a report by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research. It will be handled by a police unit specifically trained to investigate crimes against individuals.
An investigation was started due to allegations made by sports agent Sonia Souid, who accused Le Graët of engaging in inappropriate behaviour over an extended period of time. Souid stated that Le Graët's only interest in her was sexual, and in an interview with L'Equipe sports daily, she said that Le Graët repeatedly made advances towards her from 2013 to 2017.
The 81-year-old Le Graët agreed last week to step back from his duties as president of the federation following an emergency executive committee meeting into his behaviour.
Le Graët has faced several claims of sexual harassment and the soccer federation is the target of an investigation ordered by French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
Le Graët denied accusations of harassment in a statement to the French news agency AFP quoted by local media. He also blamed sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra for “numerous interferences and political pressures.” Neither the French federation nor Le Graët's lawyer responded to requests for the statement.
Le Graët, who has also been criticized this month for a perceived disrespect toward France soccer great Zinédine Zidane, has agreed to step away from his role until the audit's findings have been fully reviewed by the executive committee, likely by the end of January. Until then, he is being replaced in an interim role by federation vice president Philippe Diallo.
Oudéa-Castéra ordered an investigation into the federation in September after the body said it would file a defamation lawsuit against So Foot magazine, which reported that Le Graët allegedly harassed several female employees.
The French magazine published a six-page investigation quoting anonymous former and current employees, and inappropriate text messages that Le Graët allegedly sent to the women.
Le Graët was re-elected to a four-year term last March. He is currently a candidate for another four-year term on the FIFA Council, the international soccer body's decision-making committee.
Souid, who said she first met Le Graët in 2013, told L'Equipe that he texted her to ask her out or tell her he missed her. Souid said he never went too far verbally but made clear she should have sex with him to move her ideas forward.
“He never looked at me like an agent but like a piece of candy,” Souid said. Souid said she was hurt by Le Graët's attitude and that she thought about ending her career as an agent.
When questioned about whether Le Graët had ever assisted her professionally, Souid stated that he helped her acquire the contact information for coach Corinne Diacre and attempted to assist her with obtaining business class plane tickets for French player Amandine Henry.
(Inputs PTI)
