“He told me face to face, in his apartment, very clearly, that if I wanted him to help me, I had to go to the pan.” This Tuesday, agent Sonia Souid denounces in the daily the team and on RMC the sexist behavior of the president of the French Federation (FFF), Noël le Graët. The 81-year-old manager is received Tuesday afternoon by the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, about the audit on the functioning of the FFF, the day after the controversy which broke out after his remarks on Zidane.
In a survey this fall, the magazine So Foot had reported inappropriate behavior by Le Graët, in particular text messages of a sexual nature, which the person concerned refutes. Sonia Souid’s testimony is the first with an uncovered face from a woman evolving in the professional world of Le Graët. The remarks castigated by the agent would have been made when she wanted to speak with Le Graët, recounting an appointment intended to promote women’s football; which was also to attend the former international player Brigitte Henriques.
“I go to his apartment, when I arrive there is champagne, says Sonia Souid for BFMTV. I’m quite surprised but well I remain stoic and I wait. We talk, we talk about women’s football. Except that Brigitte Henriques is not coming, and besides, she never will. I don’t know if he told her about this meeting. I do not think so.”
She then talks about her past professional interactions: “During this meeting, he made it clear to me that if we were closer, my ideas would come to fruition, chained the agent during her testimony. In any case, he would be much more motivated to help me in this direction. And there in fact, I take a huge slap. Because I have my president of the French Football Federation who sees me…” The agent continues: “While I feel competent and legitimate because I have managed to do things even in difficulty, excuse me for the term but my president sees me as two breasts and an ass in fact.” Amélie Oudéa-Castera, who is calling for the departure of Le Graët, in office since 2011, congratulated Sonia Souid on Twitter “for the courage to [son] testimony”. “Our audit will be worthy of it. See you soon,” she added.
“But where are we? Are we in France?
France Inter revealed that “several women” had “denounced to the audit mission, the attitude of Noël Le Graët towards them”, which was confirmed by a source familiar with the matter. According to the radio, a former executive had “shown text messages and WhatsApp messages to inspectors”, who “are certainly not illegal, but […] question in view of the hierarchical link that existed between them”. “He calls a lot. I have voicemails and a few text messages,” for her part testified Sonia Souid. “Obviously I understood his personality. He is very seductive. He is a person who is very sure of himself and who thinks everything is allowed, again entrusted the agent to the microphone of BFMTV. When we hear him speak, we really have the impression that he is the king and that the French Football Federation is his kingdom. But where are we? We are in France? There are things I don’t understand.”