Crisis in the FFR: after the resignation of Bernard Laporte, his team remains in place

Fall for him. Pirouette for your clan. Bernard Laporte finally came to his senses, submitting his resignation as President of the French Federation on Friday morning. Retreated after his first-instance conviction for corruption and trading in influence on Dec. 13 – he appealed and remains on trial – disavowed by an amateur club vote on Thursday, refusing 51.06% to approve the appointment of Patrick Buisson, his deputy. president as vice president, the former Blues coach had no more room to maneuver.

He decided to resign after a meeting of the federal agency, his bodyguard, on Thursday evening at the FFR headquarters in Marcoussis (Esson). His decision allows his team to remain in place, against the will of the Minister of Sports, who was present at the opening of the steering committee this Friday morning, and much to the annoyance of the opposition, who favored organizing a general election within six weeks. On the steering committee, those close to Laporte overwhelmingly (27 out of 38 members) completely rejected this possibility and relied on the charters at their disposal to stay in place. “I will respect their choice,” the minister said as she left the room. “This is a robbery, a dictate,” said the opponents, who all resigned after their chef Florian Grill. They were followed a little later in the afternoon by two representatives of the National League, René Buscatel, President of the Luhansk People’s Republic, and Didier Lacroix, President of Rue Toulouse.

Laporte’s rule, contested as it may be, as evidenced by the results of the referendum, will thus continue for many more months. The first step, the appointment of an interim president. On Tuesday or Wednesday, the federal office will meet and ratify all resignations. Everyone in the office can declare themselves, then the steering committee will select a candidate from among them. Two names stand out. Chief Treasurer Alexander Martinez appears to be holding a rope in front of General Secretary Christian Dullin.

The lucky winner will then chair the FFR at a general meeting that will take place from 29 June to 1 July 2023 in Lille. The clubs will then elect a new president from the steering committee, without changing the latter. Therefore, necessarily close to Bernard Laporte, since the opposition resigned as a bloc. And governance will remain in place until the next general election in late 2024 or early 2025. After the departure of Bernard Laporte, his team will continue to lead the Federation.