Philippe Diallo, the man who replaced Noël Le Graët,as French football's most powerful administrator, on Thursday called on staff at the Federation française de football (FFF) to maintain their calm despite the stormy four days since Le Graet's reign fell apart following a radio interview in which he disparaged former France international Zinedine Zidane.
Diallo, 59, told employees gathered in the main auditorium at the FFF offices in central Paris: "I know this is a difficult time for you. But I ask you to continue to work in confidence."
During his 30-minute address he said he would be in charge of the FFF at least until the end of the month when an audit of the FFF's management practices is expected to be completed.
"Depending on the conclusions of the audit, decisions will be taken," he added.
The federation will have two weeks to respond to the investigators' findings.
Chaos
The FFF - which has organised the country's domestic and international football games since 1919 - was thrown into turmoil on Sunday night.
Asked on RMC whether Zidane had contacted the FFF about possibly replacing Didier Deschamps as head coach of the France national team, Le Graët responded: "I wouldn't even have taken his call on the phone.
"To tell him what? 'Hello sir, don't worry, look for another club, I just agreed a contract with Didier."
The 81-year-old's sneering tone about one of France's most gifted players and successful coaches unleashed a wave of condemnation from across the political spectrum.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé tweeted his dismay over such salient disrespect for the former Real Madrid coach.
Sorry
Though Le Graët apologised on Monday, the clumsiness spurred further criticism.
The French sports newspaper L'Equipe published an interview with a female sports agent alleging that Le Graët had tried to abuse his power during their initial dealings.
On Wednesday, the FFF's executive committee backed a deal in which Le Graët would retire from his post while the audit continues.
French football's great and good also gave the green light for the FFF's director general, Françoise Hardouin to be suspended and Diallo to take over Hardoin and Le Graët's roles.
"I welcome the decision taken by the FFF's executive committee," said Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, France's sports minister. "It was a necessary step."
If the audit fails to find any fault with Le Graët's management structures and attitudes, he could technically push to return to his job and complete the remaining year of his fourth mandate.
