Olympique de Marseille president Pablo Longoria has been handed a 15-game ban following his outburst over the weekend, where he levelled accusations of “corruption” at Ligue 1.
Marseille contested the appointment of Jérémy Stinat for the match against AJ Auxerre, which they went on to lose 3-0. Longoria was left incensed, firstly in the stands and then later in the mixed zone, about the refereeing performance, notably the sending off of OM centre-back Derek Cornelius.
Pictures from DAZN caught Longoria accusing Ligue 1 of “corruption”, leading to a fierce response from the FFF, refereeing bodies and individual referees, who confirmed an intention to sue for defamation. Longoria, via the AFP, has rowed back from his original comments saying that he regretted the use of the word “corruption”.
He has now paid the price for those comments. The Marseille president was summoned to a hearing at the LFP Disciplinary Commission on Wednesday and the verdict is now in. He has been awarded a 15-game suspension. Longoria is therefore suspended until the end of the season, whilst Les Phocéens’ sporting director, Medhi Benatia, is currently serving a three-month ban. Fabrizio Ravanelli, meanwhile, an institutional and sporting advisor at OM, has been handed a three-match ban by the LFP.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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