Pablo Longoria, the president of French Ligue 1 side Marseille, has been handed a 15-game ban for his “true corruption” claims, Afrosport reports.
Longoria’s comments were made after Marseille’s 3-0 loss at Auxerre last weekend, their fifth defeat in the league this season, which puts them 13 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1 standings.
Having gone behind 1-0 to Auxerre, Les Phoceens had a penalty shout waved off by referee Jeremy Stinat just before halftime. Stinat then sent off Derek Cornelius after a second yellow card was shown to the Canadian defender, putting the hosts in control as they went on to score two more goals.
Longoria claimed the officials were corrupt and suggested that Marseille was the victim of an organised plot.
The 39-year-old Spaniard has since apologised for his comments and the use of the word “corruption,” adding that it was not appropriate.
“The commission considered offensive remarks and behaviour which are a breach of the ethics charter and which harm the image of football,” said Sebastien Deneux, the head of France’s Professional Football League (LFP) disciplinary body.
“Longoria is suspended “from all official functions and access to players’ and officials’ dressing rooms, the pitch and all corridors leading to these areas,” the LFP said in a statement.
Former Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli, Marseille’s club adviser, was also suspended for three games for accusing Stinat of “not knowing what he was doing.”
Earlier this year, Mehdi Benatia, Marseille’s director of football, was suspended for three months for his attitude toward referee Stinat during a French Cup loss against Lille.
Both bans for Longoria and Ravanelli are effective as from next Tuesday.
Marseille, second in Ligue 1 with 46 points, hosts Nantes at Stade Velodrome on Sunday, with Longoria cleared to attend that game.
