Ligue 1: OM president Pablo Longoria suspended for 15 matches after his accusations of "corruption" towards refereeing

Pablo Longoria will no longer be able to enter the locker rooms or go into the corridors of Ligue 1 stadiums until the end of the season. The disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League (LFP), contacted following the comments made by the president of Olympique de Marseille, decided to impose a 15-match suspension on him on Wednesday, February 26.

During his team's losing trip to Auxerre (3-0), on the occasion of the 23rd day of Ligue 1, Pablo Longoria got carried away in the stands of the Abbé-Deschamps in front of the cameras. " Everything has been organized since Balerdi's yellow card in Angers, it's real corruption! It's a shitty championship. If OM has an offer for the Super League, we'll leave immediately" , he had ranted, considering the expulsion of Marseille defender Derek Cornelius unfair, as well as several other unfavorable refereeing decisions in recent weeks.

The very next day, Philippe Diallo, the president of the French Football Federation, took him up on the sting. "I condemn in the strongest terms the comments made by the President and the directors of Olympique de Marseille against French refereeing in general and the referee of yesterday's match, Jérémy Stinat. Questioning the integrity of our referees is defamatory, unacceptable and reprehensible. Such comments seriously harm the image of our championship." For their part, the French referees' union (SAFE) and several Ligue 1 referees had announced their intention to file a complaint.

Faced with the outcry caused by his remarks, Pablo Longoria finally backtracked on Monday. "I want to say that there is no corruption in French football, " he corrected himself. "A club president cannot behave like that. Nothing justifies the form and I am not happy with myself." But the LFP did not consider this turnaround sufficient to rule out a sanction. In addition, the president's advisor, Fabrizio Ravanelli, was suspended for three matches.