Lyon’s head coach, Paulo Fonseca, has been given a 9-month ban. Ligue 1’s Disciplinary Committee made the announcement on Wednesday, stating that the suspension is for confronting referee Benoît Millot. The Portuguese coach, who just celebrated his 52nd birthday, will be suspended until November 30th. This severe punishment was expected, as Fonseca was facing a potential ban of at least 7 months for his actions towards a match official. The incident occurred on Sunday during the final minutes of Lyon’s 2-1 home victory against Brest.
Referee Benoît Millot was reviewing a play on the VAR monitor that could have resulted in a last-minute penalty for Brest. At this point, Fonseca became enraged and began yelling at Millot. Millot then issued a red card to the former AC Milan player. Following this, Fonseca went face-to-face with Millot, continuing to express his anger. Lyon midfielder Corentin Tolisso had to intervene to separate the coach from the referee.
According to the Disciplinary Committee’s official statement, Fonseca is prohibited from accessing Lyon’s dugout and the referee’s dressing room before, during, and after any official match until November 30th. Furthermore, Fonseca is also barred from contacting Lyon players before and after official matches until September 15th. Lyon is scheduled to play FCSB on Thursday in the Europa League Round of 16. There is a possibility that Fonseca’s ban could be extended to international competitions if the French Football Association escalates the matter to UEFA and FIFA. Fonseca took over as Lyon coach on January 31st, replacing the dismissed Pierre Sage.