Former Moroccan international defender Mehdi Benatia, the sports advisor to Olympique de Marseille president Pablo Longoria, has been summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee of the French Football League (LFP) after criticising the referee of his team’s match against Lyon last Sunday, a source close to the case has told AFP. Benatia will be heard next week after strongly criticising the refereeing of Benoit Bastien, accusing him in particular of the early sending off of Argentine defender Leonardo Balerdi, who received two yellow cards in less than five minutes of the match. The National Ethics Council, following Marseille’s 3-2 win at the end of the fifth round, turned to the disciplinary committee of the French League after Benatia’s stance towards Bastien, a stance also condemned by the elite referees’ union.
“It’s very serious, I like to say things,” Benatia told streaming platform DAZN. “There are a lot of things that I can’t let go of and that the president (Pablo Longoria) can’t let go of. You can’t be there every week and say to yourself: ‘When are they going to do this to us?’ It’s not possible. There are a lot of doubtful things in the first half and in the whole game.” He added: “We are worried when we see that Mr. Bastian is the referee for our game.”
DAZN cameras also filmed Benatia getting angry at referee Bastian, in the corridor leading to the dressing rooms at Groupama Stadium.
Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin has been suspended for the 2022-23 season for two matches from the bench and all official duties due to rude comments made against referee Stephanie Frappart during his team’s defeat to hosts Strasbourg.
