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Lyon and Paulo Fonseca find themselves in a tricky situation in Ligue 1. |
Substitutes Malick Fofana and Georges Mikautadze played key roles in Lyon's 4-2 comeback win over Le Havre in round 26 of Ligue 1 last weekend. In France at the moment, besides PSG, Lyon is another team that has shown impressive form since the beginning of the year.
And they did it in adversity: head coach Fonseca faced a nine-month touchline ban, unable to even enter the dressing room immediately after the match ended.
Difficult
The win over Le Havre in Round 26 helped Lyon rise to fifth place in the Ligue 1 standings, just two points behind the group that will qualify directly for next season's Champions League. The win over Le Havre came about 10 days after coach Paulo Fonseca began serving a nine-month ban, which will last until November 30, 2025.
The punishment followed his collision with referee Benoit Millot in the final minutes of the 2-1 win over Brest on 9 March. The French Football Disciplinary Committee said Fonseca was sent off for “threatening” and “uncontrolled” behaviour, and was even accused of trying to headbutt the referee – a charge he denies.
Although the two sides did not directly come into contact, the Disciplinary Committee still imposed a severe punishment, forcing Fonseca to stay away from the coaching bench and not be allowed to access the dressing room or contact the team before, during and after the match.
The bad news came on Fonseca’s birthday, causing outrage among his family and his club Lyon. His wife, Kateryna, posted on her personal page: “9 months for a few seconds of screaming? An absurd, shameful and unprecedented decision. Be fair, don’t turn football into a political execution.”
Lyon president John Textor also voiced his support for his coach: “Happy birthday Paolo! I am with you. You were wrong and sincerely apologize, but this punishment is clearly too harsh. You are the right man for Lyon, and we will overcome it. Go Lyon!”
John Textor's statement is clearly a morale booster for coach Fonseca and the players. There is no prospect of Lyon firing the coach as rumored, although the fact that the Portuguese strategist is banned from coaching until November will cause a lot of difficulties for the team.
However, it seems that this heavy punishment has motivated the Lyon players to fight for their head coach. They have even played better. In the last three matches since the punishment against Fonseca, Lyon have won all, scored 10 goals and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
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Lyon united and played better after coach Fonseca's punishment. |
Looking further, since Fonseca took charge of Lyon at the beginning of the year, the team has only lost one match against PSG, and has won all the rest in Ligue 1 and Europa League.
Solution
The last two games against Nice and Le Havre have shown Lyon's ability to adapt to difficult circumstances. Without Fonseca on the bench, assistant Jorge Maciel has taken on an excellent leadership role.
He likens his job to that of an older brother in a family when the father is absent: “You teach the children in the family how to be independent when their parents are not around.” Meanwhile, coach Fonseca can only see the players off before the match, then go to the stands, put on his glasses and watch on an iPad.
Lyon are still considering an appeal, arguing that Fonseca’s punishment is “too harsh” and influenced by the “toxic context” surrounding refereeing in France, especially following the scandal involving Marseille president Pablo Longoria – who was banned for 15 matches for accusing referees of “corruption”.
However, there is little chance that coach Fonseca will have his sentence reduced. For the next 9 months, assistant Maciel will play a temporary role, while coach Fonseca can only watch from afar during each of Lyon's matches in Ligue 1. However, if Lyon continue to excel, everything will no longer be a problem.
Source: https://znews.vn/hlv-bi-cam-9-thang-lyon-van-gay-ngo-ngang-post1539062.html
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