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On Wednesday, March 5, Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca was handed a nine-month ban after getting into an altercation with a referee. The incident took place during Lyon’s 2-1 win against Brest in Ligue 1 on Sunday. After the win, Lyon are placed sixth in the Ligue 1 standings with 39 points, shy of table-toppers Paris Saint-Germain by 23 points.
Speaking of the incident, Fonseca, who is aged 52, squared up to referee Benoit Millot in the stoppage time on Sunday. The Portuguese coach was incensed after Millot was called to the VAR monitor to review a potential penalty for Brest. In a dramatic moment, Fonseca went head-against-head, shouting in his face as the official finally pulled out a red card.
Watch video of Lyon manager's confrontation with referee:
Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca banned for nine-months for confronting referee
However, no penalty was awarded with Lyon securing all three points, but his actions resulted in the Les Gones’ boss getting suspended for his actions. Later on Wednesday, the Football Law Programme (FLP) confirmed a ban for Fonseca, which bars him from the touchline until November 30. Moreover, he also also been barred from the dressing room until September 15.
Explaining the nine-month ban, Sebastien Deneux, President of the disciplinary committee, said, "Mr Fonseca is a Ligue 1 coach. He is above all an educator. It goes without saying that this attitude is strictly incompatible with these functions.” "The committee found that Mr Fonseca's attitude, throwing himself towards the referee, yelling at him, to the point that they found themselves head to head, is an attitude characteristic of intimidating and threatening behaviour," he added.
However, the 52-year-old apologised for his actions in the post-match interview with DAZN. “I apologise for this gesture. I shouldn’t do that,” he said. “Football makes us do bad gestures. The match was very difficult. Playing against Brest is always difficult, they are a physical team, they defended a lot. These are very important points,” Fonseca said.
