Two days after the much-discussed draw between OM and Strasbourg in Ligue 1 (1-1), the body now headed by former LFP boss Frédéric Thiriez called Pablo Longoria and all the players to order French Football.
French football authorities are united in the face of the accusations. In a press release published this Tuesday afternoon, the National Council of Ethics (CNE) and Football Deontology criticized the recent public positions taken by French football players.
After having “taken note of the declarations of President Pablo Longoria following the OM-Strasbourg match (1-1)”, the CNE wanted to “warn all football players, first and foremost the leaders, against any public remarks likely to discredit the arbitral function”.
“Too many decisions” against OM according to Longoria
In the crosshairs of the body attached to the French Football Federation: Olympique de Marseille and its president Pablo Longoria. For several weeks, the Marseille club has felt wronged by the arbitration and has made it known. Latest episode this Sunday: the draw at the Vélodrome against Strasbourg.
At the end of the match, the Marseillais denounced a penalty not whistled on Jonathan Rowe, with Pablo Longoria even speaking of an refereeing “scandal”. “I don't like to speak out after matches to say that's it. Until when? You know the repetition. The penalty action on Rowe is a scandal! What do we need in more? How far are we going to get with Olympique de Marseille?! Why doesn't VAR intervene? You played football during which he doesn't play the ball, he puts his hand behind his back, action. obviously, it’s a penalty for life!”, lamented the leader.
-And continued: “It's too many! It's too many matches! What are we looking for? Are we looking to penalize? If we are critical of the refereeing, they are looking to penalize us even more… I I don't understand and I want to express myself to say that's too many decisions since the start of the season.”
“A serious breach of ethics”
The CNE, now led by the former president of the LFP Frédéric Thiriez, notes the multiplication of media outings against arbitration. “Several incidents of this nature have been deplored in recent times. (…) It is permitted to discuss an arbitral decision, or even to criticize it, while respecting the duty of reserve prescribed by the Charter of Ethics What is prohibited, however, and the rule is the same for court decisions, is to bring arbitration into disrepute,” recalled the authority.
According to the press release, “accusing the refereeing body as a whole of systematic bias to the detriment of a club, with the ulterior aim of uniting its supporters around it or worse, of intimidating the referees in the hope of “obtaining more 'lenient' arbitration in the future is a serious breach of ethics and an unacceptable attack on the image of football.”
As a reminder, the National Ethics Council has the possibility of referring the matter to the disciplinary committees of the LFP or the FFF when a football player behaves badly in its opinion.
