Ligue 1: after his bad gesture, Eric Bailly is suspended pending a sanction

OM defender Eric Bailly, excluded last Saturday in the Coupe de France against Hyères (National 2) in the 32nd final in Martigues, is suspended as a precaution and will not be able to play Saturday against Lorient in Ligue 1 (19th day) , AFP learned from sources familiar with the matter.

The Ivorian defender was sent off after a quarter of an hour against Hyères fans after a gross foul on Var midfielder Almike Moussa N'Diaye, whom he kicked in the chest.

Evacuated on a stretcher, N'Diaye had to be hospitalized and briefly went through the intensive care unit at the Hôpital Nord in Marseille, while OM won 2-0.

⚽ #TLS |

Hit by Eric Bailly during the 32nd final of the Coupe de France on Saturday, Almike Moussa N'Diaye was taken to hospital.

👉 More fear than harm for the Hyères player who received a visit from the Marseille central defender.

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— francetvsport (@francetvsport) January 9, 2023

The Marseillais served an automatic suspension match during OM's victory on Wednesday at Troyes (2-0) in Ligue 1 (18th day).

He is currently suspended as a precaution and therefore cannot be on Saturday against Lorient.

The Disciplinary Committee of the French Football Federation, which manages the Coupe de France, could take a final decision on his case at its next meeting, scheduled for Thursday.

Given the damage caused to N'Diaye, Eric Bailly is liable to a four to six game suspension.

The day after the incident, Mourad Boudjellal, the president of Hyères, had reported injuries to the lungs, ribs and liver at N'Diaye.

Although the Var player left the hospital out of danger, an absence of several months is mentioned concerning him, compromising the rest of his season.

However, Boudjellal did not want to aggravate the situation and insisted on the correction shown by the Marseille camp.

"They came to apologize, for us it's really a fact of the game," he said on RMC.

For his part, Bailly had come to offer his jersey in the opposing locker room and apologized for his bad gesture.

“He apologized 150 times, we felt the guy who was not well, mentioned Boudjellal about the Marseille defender.