OM: “Insulting remarks”, “rarity”, “historical”… The commission justifies the heavy sanction imposed on Longoria

Sébastien Deneux, chairman of the disciplinary committee, after the announcement of the 15-match suspension of OM president Pablo Longoria on Wednesday : " The committee considered that these were insulting remarks, and behavior in the form of a breach of the code of ethics and which harms the image of football. Three points guided our decision, the first being the rarity of the remarks. The committee heard the president's regrets and apologies; from the committee's memory, these are not terms that have been used by other players in recent years. This is an essential point in the context of our deliberations.

The second point is the seriousness of the remarks, repeated and made numerously during the match. They undermine the sincerity and integrity of the refereeing body. And on this point, the commission intends to firmly reiterate that respect for the refereeing body is an intangible principle on which we cannot compromise. These remarks and this behavior also undermine the sincerity of the French championship. Here too, it is an important point that has entered into our reflection. And the last one is the history. Without even mentioning the other decisions that we had to make on the leaders of Olympique de Marseille, President Longoria had already been sanctioned this season, and he had recently been the subject of a warning and a reminder that were intended to be quite usefully educational by the National Ethics Council but which was clearly not taken into account at all .