The future of a French sports dinosaur will be played out in an office in the 13th arrondissement of Paris on Monday. All powerful president of the French federation of ice sports (FFSG), Didier Gailhaguet is summoned Monday, February 3 at 4 p.m. to the Ministry of Sports for an interview with the tenant of the premises, Roxana Maracineanu. According to our information, the former skater, now 66 years old, is actively preparing his defense. He therefore asked that his lawyer attend the meeting with the Minister. What was denied to him.
The one that everyone on the French ice cream believed to be irremovable, capable of returning to power after a three-year suspension for having put pressure on a judge at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, has been silenced for the moment. His federation says he reserves his word for Maracineanu. And that she "will speak on a significant number of allegations and inaccuracies" contained in "several articles and books".
A statement that clashes with the words of Gilles Beyer, accused of rape by the former champion Sarah Abitbol in the Obs. On Friday, the one who was suspended by his Flying French club recognized "inappropriate relationships" with the teenage girl in the early 1990s and apologized. Refused by his victim, who sees in this laborious mea culpa "a first step". "I'm waiting for the second," she adds. The one that will highlight the responsibility of all those who have covered, in the club and in the federation ”.
"His opponents dig up everything they have to sink it"
"There are going to be two speech releases in this story. That of victims of sexual abuse and that of Gailhaguet's opponents, tells on condition of anonymity an ex-skater. They dig up everything they have to sink it. They've been trying for years, now they have a window. But basically, all the better. From the outside, we had the image of a mafia clan. "
Displayed enemy of Didier Gailhaguet, trainer Didier Lucine, based in Annecy, drew his assertion by saying to the Parisian that the president and his followers had done everything to sink his protégés for 20 years to make him regret having condemned the actions of Gilles Beyer by mail. "The minister must take responsibility," he believes, calling, hollow, that she forces the president of the FFSG to leave his post.
He is not the only one on this line. Minister of Sports in 2001 when Beyer had been ejected from his post as sports technical advisor, Marie-George Buffet also demanded his departure. "As soon as you feel that a federation is no longer manageable by the team in place, you can withdraw its approval," she explains. I call it the atomic bomb because from there, the federation must rebuild its structures, hold elections. »A threat sufficient to make Didier Gailhaguet fail? "He has network and relationships, fears one of his opponents. And above all, it is very strong to get out of these situations. I hope he is not going to take the minister by boat. "
