French Media: Marseille’s Sporting Advisor Slams Referee, Faces Potential Ban

According to the French media outlet GFFN, following his criticism of the referee after the last Ligue 1 match, Marseille’s sporting advisor, Benatia, faces a potential four-match ban. The specific disciplinary decision will be made next week.

The match between Marseille and Lyon saw Marseille reduced to ten men just four minutes into the game; however, they managed to secure a 3-2 victory over their opponents in the end. Post-match, Benatia criticized the referee Bastien, stating, “He officiated our match against Lyon last season. When we encountered him again, I was worried about the calls. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything that happened during the match.”

Benatia mentioned that in a previous match against Nice, Cornelius received a red card, which had already caused concern for Marseille regarding the possibility of controversial refereeing decisions in the match against Lyon. “Almost the same situation occurred, with our players being sent off. Especially after Cornelius was given a red card, we met Bastien again, causing us worry for a whole week, but ultimately, the bad result still happened.”

In addition to expressing dissatisfaction with Balldi’s red card, Benatia also had grievances about the penalty awarded to Lyon during stoppage time in the first half.

Although the Ligue 1 Disciplinary Committee meeting held on the 25th did not make a decision to penalize Benatia, French media reports indicate that he will be summoned next week and faces a potential four-match ban.