바카라I couldn't care less. He can go where he likes," Noël Le Graët had said when asked about Zidane coaching Brazil's national team.
The president of France's soccer federation apologized Monday after Kylian Mbappé, the French sports minister and Real Madrid all took him to task for brusque comments that he 바카라couldn't care less바카라 about Zinédine Zidane's future as a coach. (More Football News)
Noël Le Graët said his comments in a radio interview were 바카라clumsy바카라 and 바카라absolutely don't reflect my thinking nor my consideration for the player he was and the coach he has become." Le Graët's apology was widely reported in French media.
Le Graët, who recently extended current France coach Didier Deschamps' contract until July 2026, was a guest on RMC radio's talk show Sunday and was asked about rumors linking Zidane to Brazil's national team.
바카라I'd be surprised if he went there. But he can do what he likes, it doesn't concern me. I've never met with him (Zidane), and we (the FFF) never considered parting ways with Didier,바카라 Le Graët told RMC.
Quizzed about whether he'd be upset to see Zidane coach Brazil, he said: 바카라I couldn't care less. He can go where he likes.바카라
To a follow-up question about whether Zidane called him recently, Le Graët added: "Certainly not, I wouldn't even have picked up the phone.바카라
Without mentioning Le Graët by name, World Cup star Mbappé posted a message on his Twitter account late Sunday saying: 바카라Zidane is France, you don't disrespect a legend like that.바카라
France's sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra went a step further, asking Le Graët to apologize to Zidane for his 바카라shameful lack of respect.바카라 Writing on Twitter, Oudéa-Castéra barely disguised disdain for Le Graët, using inverted commas to refer to his role at the FFF.
바카라A president' of the top sporting federation in France should not say that. Apologies, please, for going too far on Zidane," she wrote.
Le Graët has faced claims of sexual harassment and the FFF has been the target of an investigation ordered by Oudéa-Castéra.
Real Madrid also spoke up in defense of its former star player and title-winning coach, saying: 바카라These 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.바카라
The former playmaker Zidane led Les Bleus to their first World Cup title in 1998 and starred again when they won the European Championship in 2000. He scored in two World Cup finals and was on the losing side once.
Le Graët made his apology in a statement to French news agency Agence France-Presse that other French media then relayed. The federation's press office refused to share Le Graët's apology directly with The Associated Press.
Le Graët's statement also sought to shirk some of the responsibility by shifting blame to RMC's interviewers: 바카라I gave an interview to RMC that I shouldn't have given because it sought a polemic by opposing Didier against Zinédine Zidane, two monuments of French football. I admit that I made clumsy remarks which created a misunderstanding. Zinédine Zidane knows the immense respect I hold for him, like all French people.바카라