Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca has been slapped with a nine-month ban after fiercely confronting a referee and trying to ‘headbutt’ him.
Fonseca was shown a red card for dissent by referee Benoit Millot during Sunday’s 2-1 win over Brest – in just his fifth game in the job.
The Portuguese screamed in Millot’s face and pressed his head towards his. The referee came away saying he felt Fonseca had been ‘intimidating’ and that it was an ‘attempted headbutt’.
Now he has been handed a ban until November 30 and cannot even enter the dressing room until September 15, as per a ruling by the LFP, the governing body for France’s top two divisions.
Fonseca apologised after the confrontation, admitting it was the ‘wrong thing to do’.
‘First of all, I would like to present my most sincere apologies to referee Benoit Millot and his team for my behaviour on Sunday,’ Fonseca said.
‘I take full responsibility for my mistake without wanting to invent any excuse for this thoughtless gesture.
Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca has been handed a nine-month ban for squaring up to a referee
The referee complained that Fonseca had made an ‘attempted headbutt’ on him on Sunday
Fonseca has only been in charge of Lyon for five games but is banned until November 30
‘I regret having had an attitude contrary to what my principles of life are. I assure you that despite the aggressiveness with which I spoke to Mr. Millot, there was never any other intention than to wrongly express my discontent. I would also like to apologise to the referees’ committee and to Ligue 1.’
He has also offered to do community service, meeting with amateur referee associations.
Lyon are set to make a decision on his future, having appointed himas Sergio Conceicao’s successor on January 31.
Fonseca is a big-name manager on the continent, having managed the likes of Benfica, Roma, and Lille.
Millot told French newspaper L’Equipe: ‘He jumped at me with an intimidating attitude, and I decided to send him off directly. It continued to spiral out of control.
‘He had an even more intense attitude, attempting to deliver a blow, in fact. A head-butt. I didn’t even have time to announce the final decision, which turned out to be not awarding a penalty. There seemed to be a slight contact of the nose, to be precise.’