By John Wendt
In the French Ligue 1 soccer on February 22, 2025, AJ Auxerre secured a 3-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille (OM). What made legal news is that following the game, OM president Pablo Longoria took exception to the officiating and roundly criticized referee Jérémy Stinat for penalizing OM defender Derek Cornelius with a second yellow care. Longoria stated, “This is corruption. I’ve never seen anything like it. You can write it down: ‘Pablo Longoria says it’s corruption.’ Everything has been organised. It’s planned, it’s rigged…It’s a s****y championship. If OM has a proposal for the Super League, we’ll leave straight away,”[1]
That was too much for the French referees’ union, Syndicat des Arbitres du Football d’Élite (SAFE) which quickly responded by saying that it would refer the matter to the French league’s discipline committee, Ligue De Football Professionnel (LFP), noting that it had already issued a warning to OM for similar remarks made in January, 2025.[2] In a press release the union said, “No, Mr Longoria, French referees are not corrupt! Losing a match cannot justify calling into question the integrity of French referees. Mentioning an organized corruption system is not only defamatory for referees playing in professional championships: it is proof of a lack of understanding of their work and their commitment to football and it is throwing all referees officiating at professional and amateur levels to the wolves, with the consequences that this can entail…SAFE cannot accept this and has therefore decided to refer the matter to the National Ethics Committee following these particularly scandalous remarks. Complaints will be filed for defamation. And against all the people behind the hateful messages and death threats received since yesterday evening…”[3]
Olivier Lamarre, spokesperson for SAFE went on to say, “We have decided to contact the National Ethics Committee, following these comments which are, in our opinion, extremely serious and which are causing great difficulties for French football. We cannot attack French football like this without there being bodies or disciplinary committees to judge what would be the right thing to do. We have full confidence in these committees to measure the seriousness of the comments. There is no one club more than another. But overall, when we do not respect the values of football, the National Ethics Committee comes into play. We have also decided to file a complaint against all the people who make death threats on the networks…”[4] Lamarre also later announced a massive defamation complaint against Longoria: “The filing of complaints by the referees is not yet finalized, but it will be a collective complaint. All referees from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, including central and assistant officials, feel defamed by these accusations of corruption and will take legal action. There are 111 referees in total, which represents 100% of the officiating staff.”[5]
Philippe Diallo, president of the Fédération Française de Football (FFA) criticized Longoria, “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the remarks made by the president and officials of Olympique de Marseille against French refereeing in general and the referee of yesterday’s match, Jeremy Stinat, in particular, to whom I offer my full support…Calling into question the integrity of our referees is defamatory, unacceptable and reprehensible. Such comments seriously damage the image of our league.”[6] Diallo went on to say, “I am aware of the pressure and the issues that can arise for professional clubs…Everyone must remain calm and I cannot remember any accusations of corruption against our refereeing in the past… The federation supports all its referees, both professional and amateur, and of course Mr Stinat. Before the match, the tyres of his two vehicles were punctured. His wife noticed it when she was about to take the motorway. We need to call for reason. Such remarks are unacceptable.”[7]
There had been questions about appointing Stinat to referee the match. A spokesperson for OM said that OM had sent a letter to the referees’ committee stating that they had felt that the referees had been too harsh on them, especially since they had already received six red cards. However, they said that they had received no response from the committee. They also noted that Stinat was the fourth referee in a January match between OM and Lille where again red cards were given, and OM sporting director Medhi Benatia was given a three-month suspension for his bad behavior against a referee.[8] However, Lamarre noted, “Was it a mistake to appoint Jérémy Stinat for this match? The decision might have been surprising, but he is capable of officiating such matches. I feel like, week after week, the system is being escalated by OM, as if they were just waiting for an opportunity to speak about corruption. It’s putting French refereeing in difficulty, and that’s not acceptable.”[9]
Longoria quickly apologized for his comments, “There is no corruption in French football. The manner in which I expressed myself was inappropriate, and I regret using that word. I am very self-critical, and as a club president, I cannot behave like that. Nothing justifies my approach, and I am not pleased with myself…”[10] OM also defended Longoria, a Spaniard, by stating that English was not his first language, and he misspoke using the word “corruption.”[11] Longoria tried to clarify his remarks: “Everyone has explained to me the meaning of the word corruption in French, because in Spanish it has a broader meaning. Mind you, that doesn’t justify anything. But I’ve never in my life thought about something like exchanging money or financial transactions, and I’d never allow myself to do that.”[12]
Yet, some questions remained. Former soccer star turned commentator Jérôme Rothen said that he noticed that OM is not refereed as other clubs: “I try to be as objective as possible with Olympique de Marseille. Today, when I watch OM matches, I understand the anger of the leaders. Mind you, I don’t understand Pablo Longoria’s behavior. But I understand the anger of Medhi Benatia, Fabrizio Ravanelli, the coach (Roberto De Zerbi), the players. They don’t feel they are refereed in the same way as another club. That’s the reality.”[13]
Arguing with the referees seems to be part of the game, but it also seems to be getting out of hand. Tony Chapron, a former Ligue 1 referee and now television consultant said, “When I see a whole team surrounding the referee, I tell myself that we have messed up somewhere.”[14] Those arguments are not confined to France. In Germany referee Patrick Ittrich said, “We should hand out a red card to every player who approaches the referee to protest against one of his decisions, even if it means playing a team with 7 players against 10.”[15] In Spain, after losing to Barcelona, Real Madrid sent a letter to the Spanish football federation complaining that the officiating in the country was “rigged” against Real Madrid. One of Madrid’s stars, Jude Bellingham was sent off by referee Jose Munuera Montero who then faced abuse on social media. Barcelona’s German coach Hansi Flick said that referees have to be protected: “The referees at the moment, what they are doing here in Spain with them is unbelievable…You have to think about the families of the referees, all of us make mistakes, and if it happened in a match I think it’s the responsibility of the coaches and the players to protect them…We always look for excuses, if we lose it’s the referee’s fault… I say, everyone makes mistakes, I do too and maybe a referee…We have to protect the match because we cannot play without referees, so this is what we have to do.”[16]
Former French soccer star commentator turned commentator Jean-Michel Larqué is concerned that these conflicts with referees are escalating and will seriously hurt the game: “What is most troubling in what I see is the atmosphere of distrust that will now prevail on the fields. Today, no one will interpret a referee’s whistle in a completely normal way; questions will always arise, and doubts will persist.”[17] Larqué went on to say, “What bothers me the most is that the players, referees, and coaches will all be hyper-aware of even the smallest errors. It’s going to be dreadful…It makes me incredibly anxious. There will be reactions on the field, and reactions off the field. Honestly, I don’t know how to halt this trajectory. No one trusts anyone anymore. It’s only going to get worse.”[18]
There was speculation over the extent of Longoria’s suspension. These included a three-game suspension for “excessive or inappropriate behavior”; four-game suspension for “offensive behavior”; up to a twelve-game suspension for “rude or insulting behavior”; and a six-month suspension for “intimidating or threatening behavior.”[19] On February 26, 2025, the LFP Disciplinary Commission handed Longoria an extraordinary fifteen-game suspension beginning on March 4, 2025 that will last this season and into the next season. No other Ligue 1 soccer club president every been given such a long suspension. In effect, Longoria is banned from “all official functions and access to the bench, the players’ and officials’ locker rooms, the pitch, the tunnel and all corridors leading to these areas.”[20] Sebastien Deneux, the head of the LFP disciplinary committee stated that. “The commission considered offensive remarks and behaviour which are a breach of the ethics charter and which harm the image of football.”[21] In a statement OM acknowledged the sanction, but noted that, “Pablo Longoria will also continue to make every effort to develop and promote French football, both nationally and internationally.”[22] Longoria and OM have paid dearly for the outburst.
[1] Tom Burrows & Nnamdi Onyeagwara, French Referees Union to Take Legal Action after Corruption Accusations from Marseille President Pablo Longoria, The New York Times, Feb. 23, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6154095/2025/02/23/marseille-ligue-1-corruption-referee-france/ (last visited Feb 23, 2025).
[2] Samuel Petrequin, Marseille President’s Corruption Rant Sparks Backlash from French Soccer Federation, Referees, AP News (2025), https://apnews.com/article/soccer-ligue-1-marseille-referee-6848b3f17240a8db72c48037b8cbd5e9 (last visited Feb 23, 2025).
[3] Onefootball.com, OM – Le Syndicat Des Arbitres Répond Fermement Aux Accusations de Corruption de Pablo Longoria, OneFootball (2025), https://onefootball.com/fr/news/om-le-syndicat-des-arbitres-repond-fermement-aux-accusations-de-corruption-de-pablo-longoria-40746855 (last visited Feb 23, 2025). See also, Syndicat des Arbitres du Football d’Élite, Communique de Presse: NON, Les Arbitres Ne Sont Pas Corrompus, (2025), https://www.safe-arbitres.fr/Communiques-de-presse-30/COMMUNIQUE-DE-PRESSE-14455.html (last visited Mar 3, 2025).
[4] Onefootball.com, supra note 3.
[5] Footboom, 111 French Referees to Sue Pablo Longoria!, (2025), https://www.footboom1.com/en/news/football/2400832-111-french-referees-to-sue-pablo-longoria (last visited Mar 3, 2025). See also, Syndicat des Arbitres du Football d’Élite, Communique de Presse: Proteger L’Arbitre, C’est Proteger Le Football, (2025), https://www.safe-arbitres.fr/Communiques-de-presse-30/COMMUNIQUE-DE-PRESSE-14457.html (last visited Mar 3, 2025).
[6] Petrequin, supra note 2.
[7] George Boxall, ‘Serious and Unacceptable Remarks’ – French FA President Philippe Diallo Reacts to Pablo Longoria Outburst, Yahoo Sports (2025), https://sports.yahoo.com/article/serious-unacceptable-remarks-french-fa-110600101.html (last visited Mar 1, 2025).
[8] Etienne Moatti & Benjamin Henry, Medhi Benatia suspendu trois mois ferme, Olivier Létang écope d’un mois, L’Équipe (2025), https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Medhi-benatia-suspendu-trois-mois-ferme-olivier-letang-ecope-d-un-mois/1536327 (last visited Mar 1, 2025).
[9] Tribuna.com, French Referees’ Union Responds to Longoria’s “corruption” Accusations: “It’s Unacceptable,” Tribuna.com (2025), https://tribuna.com/en/news/2025-02-23-french-referees-union-responds-to-longorias-corruption-accusations-its-unacceptable/ (last visited Feb 23, 2025).
[10] Footboom, OM: Longoria’s Apology and the Referees’ Response, (2025), https://www.footboom1.com/en/news/football/2400429-om-longoria-s-apology-and-the-referees-response (last visited Mar 1, 2025).
[11] Burrows and Onyeagwara, supra note 1.
[12] Paul Myers, French Football Chiefs to Decide Fate of Marseille Boss over “corruption” Slur, RFI (2025), https://www.rfi.fr/en/sports/20250225-french-football-chiefs-to-decide-fate-of-marseille-boss-over-corruption-slur (last visited Mar 2, 2025).
[13] ` RMCSport, Polémique Sur l’arbitrage: “L’OM n’est Pas Arbitré Comme Les Autres Clubs”, Juge Jérôme Rothen, RMC Sport (2025), https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/ligue-1/polemique-sur-l-arbitrage-l-om-n-est-pas-arbitre-comme-les-autres-clubs-juge-jerome-rothen_AV-202502270795.html (last visited Mar 1, 2025).
[14] Julien Rossignol, Arguing with Refs: The Slow Poison Spoiling Football, Feb. 5, 2023, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2023/02/05/arguing-with-refs-the-slow-poison-spoiling-football_6014517_9.html (last visited Feb 23, 2025).
[15] Id.
[16] Agence France-Presse, Barcelona’s Flick Upset by Referee Harassment, France 24 (2025), https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250221-barcelona-s-flick-upset-by-referee-harassment (last visited Feb 23, 2025).
[17] Footboom, Jean-Michel Larqué Voices Concerns Over Distrust in Refereeing in French Football, (2025), https://www.footboom1.com/en/news/football/2407369-jean-michel-larque-voices-concerns-over-distrust-in-refereeing-in-french-football (last visited Mar 1, 2025).
[18] Id.
[19] Myers, supra note 13.
[20] Ligue De Football Professionnel, Commission De Discipline : Les Décisions Du 26 Février 2025, (2025), https://www.lfp.fr/article/commission-de-discipline-les-decisions-du-26-fevrier-2025 (last visited Feb 26, 2025).
[21] Agence France-Presse, Marseille President Banned 15 Matches for Corruption Accusation, theScore.com (2025), https://thescore.com/fra_fed/news/3227884 (last visited Mar 2, 2025).
[22] Olympique de Marseille, Official Statement, (2025), https://www.om.fr/en/news/4808/club/96432-official-statement (last visited Mar 2, 2025).
