TOP STORIES - French Federation charged in a sexual harassment case

The French Football Federation was condemned on Friday by the Paris Labour Council in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by an official employee, as reported by L'Équipe.

The FFF has been accused of failing to fulfill its responsibilities as an employer.

The FFF has been sentenced to pay €10,000 in damages by the court. The claimant had actually "suffered acts of sexual harassment by Mr Marc Varin (Finance Director)," according to the court.

The federation also failed to meet its duty to provide a safe work environment, despite the fact that Florence Hardouin, the FFF's General Manager, had given Varin a warning reminding him of his professional conduct and implementing "anti-harassment" training for all staff.

This case was first heard in a lower Paris court in Autumn 2018, but due to a lack of evidence, the accused were declared not guilty. The verdict was overturned on appeal, and the claimant now has the upper hand.

The claimant's lawyer, Maitre Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, had the following to say about today's decision:

“Once again, the industrial court was more rigorous than the penal court, which had surprisingly hastily dismissed the employee’s complaint, contrary to the conclusions of the investigators. The industrial tribunal necessarily took into consideration the seriousness of the facts, the irresponsible, even aggressive attitude of the FFF towards its employee since the revelation of these claims… this decision comes to close a painful procedure to which we dare not imagine that the latter will follow up.”