Arrived at AS Monaco in 2019, Gelson Martins lived a complicated 2019-20 season. Author of only four achievements this season in Ligue 1, the Portuguese striker got carried away last February during the defeat at Nîmes (3-1) by pushing the referee of the meeting, Mikael Lesage. Initially suspended six months, the 25-year-old hoped to return for the next season of the Championship, but the LFP executive decided otherwise and extended his suspension until November due to the final stop of the season.
A difficult decision to swallow for the Portuguese international. “I fully understand that what I have done is not something correct. We shouldn't do it. I am the father of a family and I am ashamed at the idea that my children may come across the images. I was punished for this, quite heavily. I accepted this sanction (…) Seeing that I could extend my suspension, it was like taking a stab in the chest, ”he explained.
"I feel like my wings have been cut off"
Gelson Martins“I think six months was a lot. But I understood and I accepted it. I knew that I would stay several months without playing. But six months, I thought it was enough. After, however, I did not understand that the sanction was changed, explains Martins in L'Equipe , he who decided, with his club, to file an appeal with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF). “This message will be very simple… I apologize for what I did, to the referee, to everyone. I was sanctioned, I accepted it and I paid for it ”.
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The ex-striker of Sporting Portugal admits that he does not understand the decision to extend his suspension: “I feel as if my wings have been cut off. I know that what I did is not correct, but I think that I learned from my error and that I have already paid the price for it (…) The championship stopped, but I didn’t I have nothing to do with it. I still don't understand (…) I can't pay again for the same fact because of something that is not my fault, ”he concluded.
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