Are football authorities finally up to the violent events that have polluted the stadiums since the start of the season and tarnished the image of French football? It is difficult to say it on the spot as the site is huge and takes time. The historic severity of the sanctions erected on Monday against Paris Football Club and Olympique Lyonnais, whose Coupe de France meeting degenerated into stands on December 17, has in any case satisfied the Ministry of Sports.
According to our information, the Minister Delegate Roxana Maracineanu wrote to the president of the FFF Noël Le Graët to welcome the “radical decisions” taken by the Disciplinary Commission. Paris FC and OL learned on Monday that they had lost the match “by penalty” and that they were therefore eliminated from the competition. The Ile-de-France club also receives a five-game suspension from its home ground, the Charléty stadium, and a fine of 10,000 euros.
As for Les Gones, the penalties are even heavier with “the closure of the visitors’ area outside until the end of the 2021-2022 season”, L1 matches included, the risk of being eliminated again from the Cup next season in the event of a match interruption, not to mention fines.
Le Graët refuses to comment on the decisions
In the aftermath of the events, Roxana Maracineanu asked the president of the FFF to act firmly. Even if she specified that she was more in favor of individual measures, she considers that these sanctions “mark the blow with vigor” in the face of this escalation of violence.
Contacted by us, Noël Le Graët for his part refused to give an opinion on the decisions of the disciplinary committee. “I never comment on a commission decision. I never do, and it’s still under appeal. A statement can be misinterpreted, ”he simply said over the phone. For now, OL and PFC have not wished to react. If the Rhone people seem to have abandoned the idea of an appeal, the Parisians still leave time to consult the reasoned decision of the FFF to decide.
