The Lyon head coach, Paulo Fonseca, has been suspended for nine months after his heated confrontation with referee Benoît Millot.
Ligue de Football Professional (LFP), the governing body which oversees Ligue 1, announced the ban on Wednesday. Fonseca angrily confronted Millot during his team’s 2-1 league victory over Brest on Sunday.
The LFP said in a statement that Fonseca will be barred from accessing the dugout, the officials’ dressing rooms, and participating in any official functions before, during or after matches until 30 November. Lyon have confirmed they will appeal the verdict, which was announced on their head coach’s 52nd birthday.
The Ligue 1 side have said they are concerned by the severity of the sanction imposed on Fonseca, and described his behaviour as an emotional reaction without intent to harm the referee. “In light of a sanction that seems to have been dictated by the negative context affecting French refereeing, [Lyon] announce it is studying all possible avenues of appeal,” the statement added.
Fonseca was shown a red card during Sunday’s match after a review of a potential penalty for Brest, which the Brittany team were not awarded. The Portuguese coach was dismissed for his “intimidating attitude”, according to Millot.
The referee claimed that Fonseca then escalated the confrontation: “He had an even more intense attitude, attempting to deliver a blow, in fact. A head-butt.” Fonseca, who only took over as Lyon manager in January having left Milan a month before, apologised for his reaction after the game.
The French referees’ union said last week its members would exercise their right to resign if they or their families were in danger. That came after a match official faced an alleged “outpouring of hatred” following comments made by the Marseille president, Pablo Longoria. The LFP handed Longoria a 15-match ban for his comments.
Lyon, who are sixth in Ligue 1, face Steaua in Romania on Thursday in first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie. Fonseca will be able to lead his team from the dugout in Bucharest, but his ban could be extended beyond domestic matches if the French football federation decides to take the matter to Uefa.
