Sanctions were expected after the disastrous rat race. The disciplinary committee of the League (LFP) cracked down on Wednesday evening to punish the actors of the incidents of the match of August 22 between Nice and Marseille, which will be replayed on neutral ground. Two points, one of which was suspended, were withdrawn from the Riviera club, which will also have to play its next three games behind closed doors – which had already been decided by the prefect. Marseille side, two players (Payet and Gonzalez) are suspended.
The sanction was announced shortly after 11 p.m., after a five-hour marathon session, including 90 minutes of deliberations. And for good reason: the record of the clashes that caused the interruption in the 75th minute of the Mediterranean derby, on August 22, was out of the ordinary. To the point of pushing the LFP to relocate the meeting to a Parisian hotel at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, rather than in its premises considered too small.
A serious incidents, exceptional means and decisions “Very severe”, Sébastien Deneux, chairman of the disciplinary committee, explained to the journalists gathered for a videoconference. “What was essential for us is the degree of importance of the incidents which constitutes an extremely high level of disorder, almost unprecedented, and which should lead the commission to enter a zone of sanctions which is itself , very severe and very high ”, he continued.
This announcement does not go in the direction of the people of Nice, who believed “To have won”, according to their coach Christophe Galtier, or Marseille, whose coach Jorge Sampaoli rejected the faults on the opponent.
The Gym remains the most sanctioned club all the same: with two withdrawal points, one of which is suspended, the Aiglons will drag all season long the burden of this nightmare evening. OGC Nice can appeal to the higher appeal committee of the French Football Federation (FFF). The appeal is not suspensive with some exceptions.
The Nice will finally have to play three home matches behind closed doors, the first having been served before the international break against Bordeaux, as a precaution. The second will be the one against OM to replay and the third… the derby against neighboring Monaco, on September 19.
On the sporting front, OM, which is considering a possible appeal, deplores the suspension of two players: the playmaker Dimitri Payet (one game suspended) and the Spanish defender Alvaro Gonzalez (two games closed).
Judicial component
The August 22 match between Nice and Marseille degenerated in the 75th minute after Payet, who was about to take a corner, was the target of ultra Nice supporters. Hit in the back by a plastic water bottle, the Reunionese returned the projectile to the public.
Dozens of Nice supporters then invaded the lawn, causing a general fight between supporters, players of the two teams and members of the management of the two clubs. Alvaro Gonzalez notably sent a ball into the stand. OM physical trainer Pablo Fernandez punched a Nice supporter on the pitch. He was suspended until the end of the season.
The consequences of this controversial match, which also gave the idea to elected officials to continue the meeting in the field of political recovery, will not stop there. Several investigations are underway on the judicial aspect. The Nice supporter author of a kick in the direction of Payet, now under judicial control, will be tried on September 22. Another, accused of giving a Nazi salute, was remanded in custody on Friday pending his trial scheduled for October 13, for “Apology for crimes against humanity”.
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