The head of the French skating federation, Didier Gailhaguet has been asked to resign by the country's sports minister, Roxana Maracineanu, after she grilled him over a string of accusations of sexual abuse and rape allegations against Gilles Beyer, a coach of underage skaters. 

Federation head Gailhaguet was not directly targeted by the claims but was asked by Maracineanu about Beyer, who has been accused of rape and continued to work with the federation following an investigation that raised suspicion in the early 2000s.

Gailhaguet was called in following the publication of a book last week in which Sarah Abitbol, a 10-time French champion and pairs bronze medalist at the 2000 world championships, accused Beyer of raping her from 1990 to 1992 when she was a teenager.

Despite the dismissal, Beyer continued his work at Les Francais Volants and served several terms at the French skating federation until 2018.

Meanwhile, the under-fire French skating federation head tried to come clean saying, "I committed errors but not wrongdoing. Certainly errors but not wrongdoing. I am clean and impassioned by sports. I have always loved it and I will continue to love it. I am not perfect."