The Lyon coach has been punished for his confrontation in the final minutes of Lyon-Brest (a match won 2-1 by OL) with the referee Benoit Millot, with whom he ended up having a head-to-head clash which led to his red card.
The day after the suspension ruling, a message from the wife of the former Milan and Roma coach, Kateryna, was posted to Instagram stories: "Nine months for a few seconds of screaming? An absurd, scandalous and unprecedented decision. Fair justice, please, not a political execution."
Lyon president John Textor also assured Fonseca of his and the club's support.
"Happy Birthday Paolo! I am with you today and always. You made a mistake... your apologies were sincere... and your punishment is clearly too severe. You are the right man for Lyon and we will persevere. Allez l'OL!" stated Textor.
Fonseca will have to stay away not only from the bench, but also from his team's locker room for the duration of the sanction.