The president of the French soccer federation is standing in solidarity with the country’s referees following accusations of corruption made by Olympique de Marseille president, Pablo Longoria. This came after Marseille suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Auxerre in the French league, a loss that added to the tension surrounding the club’s performance this season.
Marseille has frequently criticized refereeing decisions, but Longoria’s comments following this match marked a significant escalation in his allegations. Clearly frustrated by his team’s fifth league loss, which left them trailing Paris Saint-Germain by ten points, Longoria articulated concerns of “true corruption” and implied that Marseille may be the target of a systematic bias.
Currently, PSG still holds a match in hand and stands poised to increase its lead to 13 points if they secure a victory against Lyon on Sunday. Philippe Diallo, the president of the French soccer federation, responded firmly to Longoria’s claims by publicly denouncing the accusations aimed at the referees, particularly at Jérémy Stinat, who officiated the contentious match.
Diallo expressed his full support for Stinat and condemned Longoria’s remarks, labeling them as defamatory, unacceptable, and damaging to the league’s reputation. He emphasized that undermining the integrity of the referees tarnishes the image of French football.
The reactions from the referee’s union, SAFE, were swift and intense, declaring that they would pursue legal action against Longoria for defamation and address the hate-driven messages and threats that surfaced following his comments. The union confirmed its intention to bring the matter to the federation’s ethics committee for further investigation.
In response to the growing discord, the federation’s ethics committee announced it would escalate the issue to the disciplinary committee of the French league, noting that Longoria had already been warned previously for disparaging remarks made about refereeing after a match against Strasbourg. The committee observed that Longoria’s recent comments displayed a blatant disregard for the prior warning, escalating the situation further.
Earlier this season, Marseille’s director of football, Mehdi Benatia, faced a three-month suspension for inappropriate conduct towards Stinat during a French Cup loss against Lille, where Stinat was serving as a fourth official. While admitting that Marseille’s performance was lacking and that Auxerre deserved to win, coach Roberto De Zerbi described Cornelius’s dismissal as “scandalous.”
De Zerbi voiced concerns about the referee’s demeanor during the match and speculated that previous controversies may have influenced his decision-making. He criticized the overall standards of officiating, expressing worries that such contentious decisions could adversely affect the image of French soccer on an international stage.
Former Marseille player, Fabrizio Ravanelli, who now acts as an advisor for the team, echoed De Zerbi’s frustrations regarding the referee’s competence and further scrutinized earlier officiating decisions against Marseille captain Leonardo Balerdi, who was suspended from the game against Auxerre.