Noel Le Graet, president of the French Football Federation, attends a news conference on June 22, 2016.FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
French soccer federation president Noël Le Graët is under investigation for sexual harassment and “moral harassment,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.
In a message to the Associated Press, the prosecutor’s office said the investigation was opened Monday after a report by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research. It will be carried out by a special police unit dedicated to crimes against individuals.
The investigation was launched after sports agent Sonia Souid accused Le Graët of improper conduct over several years, saying he only was interested in her sexually. Souid said in an interview with L’Équipe sports daily that Le Graët repeatedly tried to approach her from 2013-17.
The 81-year-old Le Graët agreed last week to step back from his duties as president of the federation after 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 French news agency AFP quoted by local media. He also blamed Oudéa-Castéra for “numerous interferences and political pressures.” Neither the French federation nor Le Graët’s lawyer responded to requests for the statement.