His fight with Benoit Millot, the referee in charge of officiating the last match of Olympique Lyon against Brest, has turned out to be very costly for Paulo Fonseca. According to the announcement made by the LFP last night, they have decided that Paulo Fonseca will be suspended for the next nine months and will not be able to coach a match for Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1 until November.

What Paulo Fonseca's wife said

This decision has logically put Paulo Fonseca's position as coach of Olympique Lyon in serious jeopardy. Let’s remember that he arrived as the replacement for Pierre Sage and has only been able to coach five matches for the team, in which he managed to turn around the team's dynamic, achieving three victories in Ligue 1 against Reims (4-0), Montpellier (1-4), and Brest (2-1).

In addition to the sanction that will prevent him from coaching Olympique Lyon until November 30, 2025, Paulo Fonseca is also banned from entering the locker room. "Nine months for a few seconds of shouting? An absurd, scandalous, and unprecedented decision. Fair justice, please, not a political execution," wrote his partner on Instagram.

The reaction of Olympique Lyon

Olympique Lyon has also not hesitated to make public their disagreement with the harsh decision of the LFP, denouncing it as “an extremely severe sanction.” Paulo Fonseca, however, has preferred to remain silent ahead of the Europa League match against FCSB, stating that “he will present his arguments before the disciplinary committee.”

It is worth noting that the sanction imposed by the LFP on Paulo Fonseca is only applicable to Olympique Lyon’s matches in Ligue 1. Thus, the Portuguese coach will be able to sit on the bench tonight at the National Arena in Bucharest (Romania) for the Europa League match against Lyon and FCSB.