March 7 – Ousted French FA president Noël Le Graët has succumbed to the inevitable by at last withdrawing his candidacy for re-election to the FIFA Council.
Le Graët had remained in the race to be re-elected on April 5 for another four-year term to the $250,000 a year post. This was despite resigning after a government audit found he no longer had the legitimacy to run French football because of his behaviour toward women and his management style.
UEFA has now published an updated list of European candidates for FIFA’s top table, noting that Le Graët has “decided to withdraw his candidature from the election”.
That leaves his only rival for the post, Portuguese football boss Fernando Gomes, unopposed for the seat.
Despite being forced to quit his national federation after 11 years in charge and now also ending his role on the all-important FIFA Council, Le Graet appears to still have the support of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The 81-year-old looks set to remain, somewhat remarkably, as Infantino’s man to oversee FIFA’s satellite office in Paris.
The subject is so touchy for Infantino that according to agency reports, he refused to answer a question on Le Graet’s future status when attending an IFAB news conference in London last Saturday.
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