The French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG) faces multiple criminal charges after a probe by an independent authority shone light on a litany of wrongdoings and sexual assault cover-ups by its former president and his inner circle, the sports minister said Saturday.
The General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research published a damning report on Saturday following an eight-months investigation into the people who governed FFSG until 2020 when then-FFSG head Didier Gailhaguet announced his resignation.
“The mission establishes numerous shortcomings that marked the governance of FFSG until 2020, some of which may be criminal. Subsequently, the mission presented a report to the Public Prosecutor, who is responsible for deciding next steps,” Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said.
The six-page report concludes that FFSG officials appeared to have broken Article 40 of the national criminal code, which punishes crimes committed in a public capacity in the exercise of duties. These include unjustified use of public money, allocation of lucrative contracts to firms with personal ties to FFSG officials, destruction of archives related to Gailhaguet’s management and threats to current FFSG governors.
Gailhaguet resigned early in 2020 over a sexual abuse scandal after several figure skaters accused their coaches of assaulting them sexually while they were children. The scandal came to light following the publication of a book by French skating star Sarah Abitbol, who wrote about her coach Gilles Beyer raping her repeatedly when she was 15.
sexual assault seems to happen in every branch of top sport. One scandal after another. Girls and boys being victims of abusive adults.