Paulo Fonseca has been given a lengthy ban for yelling at a referee.
The head coach of French Lyon, Paulo Fonseca, has been suspended from football for 9 months.
This was reported by the LFP publication.
The 51-year-old Portuguese specialist received this punishment following an investigation into an incident that occurred on March 2 during the 24th round match of the French championship against Brest.
At the end of the match, the referee went to watch a video replay of an episode with a possible violation of the rules and the appointment of a penalty in the goal of “Lyon”. Fonseca began to shout at the referee and actively gesticulate. The referee showed the coach a red card, after which he almost attacked him.
Almost every spire in Paulo Fonseca over in France pic.twitter.com/pSMhYd6sDQ
— Matteo Bonetti (@Bonetti) March 2, 2025
Paulo's suspension will last until November 30, 2025. Moreover, until September 15, he is not even allowed to enter his team's dressing room before matches and during half-time, and he will not be able to sit on the bench during games.
It should be noted that Fonseca is the former coach of Shakhtar Donetsk, which he headed from 2016 to 2019. Under his leadership, the Miners won the Ukrainian Championship and Cup three times, and also won one Ukrainian Super Cup.
After leaving the Donetsk club, the Portuguese coached Italian Roma (2019-2021), French Lille (2022-2024), and Italian Milan (2024), from where he was fired at the end of last year. In January 2025, Fonseca took over Lyon.