[4][5] First taking the reins of the FFSG in 1998, Gailhaguet was a central figure in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games figure skating scandal, in which French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne said that she had judged wrongly in the pairs competition under pressure from Gailhaguet as part of an arrangement between the FFSG and the Russian skating federation related to the future ice dance competition.

Witnesses of Le Gougne's statement were Sally-Anne Stapleford (Great Britain), Britta Lindgren (Sweden), Walburga Grimm (Germany), and Jon Jackson (USA).

In February 2020, retired pair skater Sarah Abitbol accused Gailhaguet of having covered up her abuse allegations against one of his allies, longtime coach and FFSG official Gilles Beyer.

Concurrently, Gailhaguet was attempting to defend pair skater Morgan Ciprès, who was accused of having sent a picture of his penis to a 13-year-old girl at his training center in Florida.

[9] The scandal attracted nationwide news coverage and denunciations from prominent skaters, including Olympic ice dance champion Gwendal Peizerat.

[10][11] Péchalat imposed new term limits on service as the federation president, a measure generally perceived as being aimed at preventing a third Gailhaguet tenure in the office.