PARIS : Olympique Lyonnais coach Paulo Fonseca could face a suspension of up to seven months following his forceful actions towards referee Neoit Millot in his team’s 2-1 Ligue 1 victory over Brest on Sunday.
Fonseca was shown a straight red card after a review of a potential penalty for Brest – which the Brittany team were not awarded – for his ‘intimidating attitude’, according to Millot.
“He jumped at me with an intimidating attitude, and I decided to send him off directly. It continued to spiral out of control,” Millot told French sports daily L’Equipe on Monday.
“He had an even more intense attitude, attempting to deliver a blow, in fact. A headbutt. I didn’t even have time to announce the final decision, which turned out to be not awarding a penalty. There seemed to be a slight contact of the nose, to be precise.”
Fonseca apologised but according to the French professional league (LFP) regulations, the Portuguese could be banned for his outburst, which ended when Lyon players pushed him away from Millot.
Last week, the French referees union said its members would exercise their right to withdraw if they or their families are put at risk after a match official faced an “outpouring of hate” following comments by Olympique de Marseille President Pablo Longoria.
Local media reported that Longoria had objected to the appointment of referee Jeremy Stinat for their league game against Auxerre on February 22, which they lost 3-0.
Longoria said the defeat was down to “true corruption” and expressed his anger over the red card shown to defender Derek Cornelius.
The LFP handed Longoria a 15-match ban for his comments last Wednesday.
