Former FFF president questioned over accounting irregularities

According to judicial sources, police investigators have questioned Claude Simonet, the ex-president of the French Football Federation (FFF), over accounting irregularities at the organization.

Simonet was asked to submit evidence on finances posted in the 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons. In 2002/03, according to French newspaper L’Equipe, a trading deficit of EUR 14.4 million was recorded as a EUR 62,000 loss, and the next season, a loss of EUR 4 million was recorded as a 2.6 million loss.

Simonet stepped down last year after serving 11 years as the FFF president, making way for current president Jean-Pierre Escalette. French tax authorities first opened an investigation in February of last year after “irregularities and inconsistencies were discovered in the FFF books which amounted to a hole in the accounts that was bigger than was declared.”

FFF VP Bernard Bacourt, the treasurer during the suspect terms, and financial director Michel Bayan also have been interviewed. The investigation is expected to last three weeks.