Heavy sanctions in sight?
The disciplinary committee of the League meets Wednesday (5:00 p.m.) to judge the accusations of racism or homophobia targeting the Parisian superstar Neymar and the Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez, who risk big after the stormy PSG-OM of September 13.
Did Alvaro treat Neymar as a "monkey", as the Brazilian assures him?
He replied with offensive homophobic remarks against the Spaniard, as claimed by a Spanish channel?
Did he also utter a racist insult against the Japanese Hiroki Sakai, what a source close to OM believes to know?
These accusations have animated a debate since the "Classic" of the French championship, won by the Marseillais at the Parc des Princes (1-0) at the end of a meeting of rare aggressiveness, ended between fights, insults and exclusions.
Thauvin's victorious goal during PSG-OM (0-1)
The epilogue is scheduled for Wednesday evening, after the meeting of the Disciplinary Commission of the Professional Football League (LFP), except improbable postponement of the verdict.
The Commission had opened an investigation on September 16, three days after the meeting, about the "behavior" of the two players, and therefore had two weeks to investigate the case.
Up to 10 suspension matches
If the disciplinary regulations of the French Federation provide for ten suspension matches for “racist or discriminatory behavior”, these sanctions can be “reduced”, “increased”, or “combined in whole or in part with the suspension” according to the “circumstances”, indicates this same regulation.
Case law is almost non-existent in this kind of case: cases directly involving players remain quite rare in the recent history of Ligue 1.
In 2007, Lyon striker Milan Baros was sanctioned with three suspension matches for pinching his nose while waving a hand in front, as if to fan a bad smell, when addressing the Cameroonian player from Rennes Stéphane Mbia.
And more recently, in 2013, the Englishman of Marseille Joey Barton was sentenced to two suspended matches from the National Council of Ethics (CNE) after treating the Parisian Thiago Silva of "big" and " transsexual ”, in particular, on social networks.
After several days of cross accusations between Paris and Marseille, the animosity gradually subsided while awaiting the verdict.
“We let the League conduct its investigation.
The player was called by the commission, I can not say anything if there is an investigation, to the League to carry out its investigations ”, played down last Thursday André Villas-Boas, the Marseille coach.
Tuchel "worried"
This Alvaro-Neymar affair, "it lasts", regretted his partner Morgan Sanson.
“We gave our support to Alvaro.
It's very strong emotionally, very complicated, he's a big boy focused on his performance, but hard not to be disturbed, ”he added, while the Spaniard lodged a complaint after receiving threats death by the thousands after the encounter.
On the Paris side, coach Thomas Tuchel said he was "worried" in view of the verdict, judging "unbalanced" the sanctions already taken by the disciplinary committee while "on the ground I had the feeling that the aggression and the reaction was balanced ”.
Two rounds of sanctions have indeed already been pronounced: the first concerned the Marseillais Jordan Amavi (3 matches) and Dario Benedetto (1 match), and the Parisians Layvin Kurzawa (6 matches), Leandro Paredes (2 matches closed plus one with reprieve) as well as Neymar, already (2 matches closed plus one suspended).
The second pinned Angel Di Maria (4 matches) for a spit in the direction of Alvaro Gonzalez.
This promises PSG a workforce still decimated in the coming weeks, if Neymar were to be suspended for several matches ...
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