The suspended Lyon coach explained his frustration with the referee by the quarrel between Trump and Zelensky

The head coach of the French football club Lyon, Paulo Fonseca, who was disqualified for nine months for assaulting a referee in the French championship match against Brest, explained his act by saying that he was afraid of the uncertainty caused after the meeting between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and US leader Donald Trump. This was reported on March 7 by The New York Times.

According to the newspaper, the coach took part in a meeting of the disciplinary commission of Ligue 1 via video link, where he admitted that his emotional state was unstable against the background of the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, it is reported that the coach's emotionality was influenced by the separation from his family, who lives in Italy.

The Lyon club also expressed its desire to appeal the punishment due to its "excessive severity."

It is specified that Fonseca will be prohibited from taking part in any official events, as well as being on the bench until November 30 this year. In addition, he will not be able to be in the team's locker room at the games until September 15.

Fonseca's disqualification became known the day before. It was noted that the Lyon coach came into conflict with the chief referee, leaning too close to him to make claims. After Fonsek was removed from the field for being rude to the referee, he punched him in the face.