The French Football League has announced a six-match suspension (three of which are deferred) for the sporting director of Marseille, accused of threatening and insulting the referee and his assistants during the match against Lyon.
Marseille is outraged by the penalty imposed on Mehdi Benatia, their sporting director and advisor to the club’s president, Pablo Longoria. He is suspended for six matches (three of them deferred) due to his conduct towards Benoît Bastien, the referee of the Lyon-Marseille match on September 22. The club has denied that Benatia threatened or insulted the official and his assistants. The incident occurred during halftime, and the match ended with a score of 3-2 in favor of the home team at the Vélodrome.
Benatia, a former defender for Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Roma among other teams, approached Bastien and his assistants to complain about the red card shown to Leonardo Balerdi in the fifth minute. The French Football League (LFP) announced the sanction against Benatia, which prohibits him from being on the bench, approaching the referee’s dressing room, and carrying out any official duties.
Marseille described the ban as “surprising and incomprehensible, inconsistent with regard to other similar situations that have occurred recently or in the past.”
