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United States Mbappé accuses French FA president of disrespect over Zidane ...
- Le Graët said he ‘wouldn’t even pick up the phone’ to Zidane
- Mbappé and French sports minister unhappy with remarks
The France Football Federation (FFF) president, Noël Le Graët, apologised to Zinedine Zidane on Monday after his comments on the former Real Madrid coach drew the ire of players, politicians and even the Spanish club.
Zidane was one of the favourites to take charge of France if Didier Deschamps had stepped down but Deschamps’ contract was extended after he led the team to the World Cup final, where they lost to Argentina in Qatar last month.
When asked whether Zidane, a World Cup winner with France in 1998 and a national icon, would now manage Brazil instead, Le Graët had told RMC: “I don’t give a damn, he can go wherever he wants.”
Le Graët added he would not even pick up the phone if Zidane called, prompting a backlash and his apology.
“I would like to present my personal apologies for these remarks which absolutely do not reflect my thoughts, nor my consideration for the player he was and the coach he has become,” Le Graët said in a statement reported by L’Équipe. “I admit that I made awkward remarks which created a misunderstanding. Zidane knows the immense esteem I have for him, like all French people.”
On Sunday, Le Graët had said Zidane was on the radar and had plenty of support but stood no chance of replacing Deschamps.
“Who can make serious reproaches to Deschamps?” he said. “Nobody. He [Zidane] does what he wants; it’s none of my business. I’ve never met him, we’ve never considered parting with Didier. He can go where he wants, to a club … If Zidane tried to contact me? Certainly not, I wouldn’t even pick up the phone.”
Zidane was the first coach to win the Champions League three times in a row when he was in charge of Real Madrid. The 50-year-old, who also won the 2000 European Championship with France in a glittering playing career, is without a job after he left his role with the Spanish club in 2021.
Kylian Mbappé was one of the first to voice his disapproval after Le Graët’s comments were aired. “Zidane is France, we don’t disrespect the legend like that,” Mbappé said on Twitter after Le Graët’s interview was aired.
Le Graët’s dismissal of Zidane as a potential successor to Deschamps comes two years after he had backed the former midfielder to take up the reins if available.
France’s minister for sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, was one of many politicians who reacted to Le Graët’s comments. “Yet more out-of-touch comments and on top of that a shameful lack of respect, which hurts us all, towards a legend of football and sport,” she wrote on Twitter. She called for an apology.
Real Madrid said: “These remarks show a lack of respect for one of the most admired figures by football fans around the world and our club is awaiting an immediate correction. The statements by the president of the French Football Federation are inappropriate for someone holding such representation and are in themselves unsuitable.”
- France
- Zinedine Zidane
- Kylian Mbappé
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