French Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille is preparing to appeal the three-month suspension of sporting director Medhi Benatia.
The Sporting Director landed in trouble during an altercation with fourth referee Jérémy Stinat in the heated Coupe de France tie against Lille OSC in January.
After several weeks of looking at the case, the French FA on Thursday slapped Benatia with a three-month suspension, keeping him away from performing his duties at Olympique Marseille.
Marseille’s frustrations with officiating reached a boiling point when club president Pablo Longoria expressed outrage over Stinat’s decisions during their Ligue 1 defeat to Auxerre. His reaction led to a separate 15-game suspension.
Despite the FFF’s ruling, Marseille remains steadfast in their defense of Benatia, announcing plans to escalate their appeal to the Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF), the highest sporting authority in France. The club insists that the punishment is excessive and unjustified, citing broadcast footage that, in their view, clearly shows Benatia did not act in a threatening manner toward the fourth official.
The club, through its lawyers, is hoping to have the suspension of both officials removed or reduced to the barest minimum.
