Following the withdrawal of his complaint for defamation against the former Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa Castéra, Noël Le Graët, ex-president of the FFF, was strongly criticized by the attorney general on Tuesday.
As announced, there will be no defamation trial for Amélie Oudéa-Castera, the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) confirmed on Tuesday, noting the withdrawal of the plaintiff, the former boss of French Football Noël Le Graët who took his place during this short hearing.
Noël Le Graët had filed a defamation complaint against the former Minister of Sports, after resigning from the head of the French Football Federation (FFF) in 2023. He accused him in particular of having “save” by reporting the conclusions of an investigation by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research (IGESR) which pointed out its “behavioral deviations” especially towards women.
“He has been cleared of the facts, he is in a process of appeasement and he has made the decision to move on”
Me Florence Bourg, who defends Noël Le Graët
He did not come to the Paris courthouse on Tuesday morning, “for health reasons”indicates his lawyer, confirming his withdrawal. This withdrawal – which necessarily interrupts defamation proceedings – was reported to the CJR on November 19, one month after the dismissal of the investigation into moral and sexual harassment targeting Mr. Le Graët. “He has been cleared of the facts, he is in a process of appeasement and he has made the decision to move on”explains Me Florence Bourg to the Court.
The Attorney General reassured by this “late withdrawal”
The criminal investigation was closed for “insufficiently characterized offense”not «absence d’infraction»corrects Attorney General Rémy Heitz, visibly upset by this “late withdrawal”the “wasted time” for justice, and “inconvenience” generated for the former Minister of Sports during these 18 months of procedure.
“Perhaps the plaintiff remembered the adage that a defamation action is sometimes a lawsuit on yourself.”he continues. “We hope that this practice”looking more like a “instrumentalization of justice” only to one “necessary access to the judge”don't know “don’t develop”concludes the magistrate.
Mr. Le Graët “made a wise and prudent decision” in “sparing” this audience where we “would have publicly detailed his unacceptable language discrepancies”adds Me Nicolas Brault, Ms. Oudéa-Castéra’s lawyer.
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At the helm, the latter, now without «profession»almost regrets not being able to“explain about the totally unfounded character” accusations from Mr. Le Graët. Before the Court asked him to stop “talk about the substance” of the file and that Mr. Le Graët's lawyer denounces “a platform”the ex-minister claims to have only resumed “scrupulously” the report on the “repeated differences in behavior towards women” and the “toxic management” of the latter.
After eleven years of reign, between sporting successes, economic recovery and epilogue in the media storm, Mr. Le Graët left the head of the FFF at the end of February 2023 under pressure after this damning report on his management, against a backdrop of accusations of harassment sexual.
