OM supporters thought they detected a hint of blue sky in the middle of the black clouds. During its weekly meeting on Wednesday in Paris, the disciplinary committee did not fail to single out the Olympique, first by confirming the exclusion considered severe at the Robert Louis-Dreyfus center of Leonardo Balerdi and imposing a suspension on him (he will miss the trip to Strasbourg this Sunday), then closing the areas reserved for Commando Ultra 84 and MTP for having celebrated their respective birthdays too festively, against Nice (2-0). Result of the races, the entire bottom of the Virage Chevalier Roze and part of the top of the Virage De Peretti will remain empty, in eight days for the reception in Angers.
The good news in all this? The absence of the name of Medhi Benatia in the minutes of the proceedings, unlike Éric Roy, sanctioned with a three-match suspension for having criticized the refereeing last weekend. The sports advisor of Pablo Longoria, who had not minced his words on the decisions of Benoît Bastien on the sidelines of the Olympico, was caught by the National Ethics Council (CNE) which decided to seize, from Monday , the commission. Which Benatia raised the subject well on Wednesday.
But given that it is not an expulsion and therefore an automatic suspension, the Olympian leader is summoned to the next meeting of the commission, Wednesday October 2. He received the notification within the last few hours. He still believes he is within his rights, judging that Alexandre Lacazette previously committed a foul on Balerdi (before the second warning) and that the penalty should not have been whistled because of a prior offside.
Will the commission hear his arguments? Or will she condemn comments deemed hurtful, as she has just done for Roy? What does Benatia risk who simply seeks to defend the OM institution? There is no reference scale for sanctions subject to referral to the CNE. But hurtful remarks outside of a match are punishable by a 4-match suspension. And the commission can reduce or increase the sanction.
Whatever the outcome of the next meeting, Benatia will maintain this line of conduct and will not hesitate to step up when the situation requires it, according to him.
