French referees union reacts to Pablo Longoria’s corruption claims

The French referees union – SAFE, Syndicat des Arbitres du Football d’Elite – has strongly condemned Pablo Longoria’s outburst on the back of Marseille’s 3-0 away loss to Auxerre on Saturday. The Marseille president flew into a rage as several refereeing decisions did not come Les Phocéens‘ way. Longoria even threatened to leave Ligue 1 – “a shit league” – to join a potential Super League. “This is corruption! I’ve never seen anything like it. You can write it down: Pablo Longoria says it’s corruption,” the Spaniard reportedly said on Saturday at Auxerre’s Stade de l’Abbé Deschamps. Marseille head Roberto De Zerbi was also less than impressed, admitting he would no longer coach in France after his OM stint.

Longoria’s fury was also directed at referee Jérémy Stinat, who oversaw the game yesterday in which Marseille were denied a penalty. Stinat also handed Marseille centre-back Derek Cornelius a red card for a second bookable offense. Stinat was already the subject of questioning after a complaint was sent to the referee arbitration board regarding Stinat’s involvement in the three-month suspension of football director Medhi Benatia following the club’s Coupe de France exit in January. 

This Sunday, SAFE put out a statement called “No, referees are not corrupt” in which it announced its intention to seize the French FA’s National Ethics Committee. “Losing a match cannot justify questioning the probity of French referees.”, the statement reads. “Evoking an organized corruption system is not only defamatory for the referees evolving in the professional championships: it is proof of ignorance of their work and their commitment to the service of football.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval