LAST UPDATE | 28 Oct 2019
FRANCK RIBERY HAS apologised after being suspended for three matches on Monday for pushing an assistant referee following Fiorentina’s dramatic late loss to Lazio the night before.
Ribery was handed the ban after he approached assistant referee Matteo Passeri “threateningly” and uttered “disrespectful words” before pushing him after the final whistle on Sunday, said the Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary panel.
“I’m very sorry for last night, I apologise to my teammates, the coach and fans,” Ribery said on Twitter on Monday.
I also apologise to Mr Passeri because at the end of the game I was very tense and angry and I hope he can understand the state I was in.
The French attacker was already furious when he was taken off by coach Vincenzo Montella after 74 minutes. Television cameras showed him agitated on the bench, shouting repeatedly at Montella.
That anger had not subsided by the end of the match, which Fiorentina lost 2-1 after Lazio scored a controversial goal in the 88th minute. He pushed one of the assistant referees twice on the way to the dressing room.
The Serie A website said the former Bayern player received a red card at the time.
It also said he was fined €20,000.
Ribery had made a strong start to his first season with Fiorentina, effective on the pitch and charming Italian fans and media alike.
Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso earlier criticised the Frenchman for pushing the official, claiming Ribery “was a bit nervous and he was wrong, even though he had a reason. We’ll see how we move forward,” in a conversation with Radio Anch’io Sport.
However, the American insisted the incident only took place because of Fiorentina’s frustrations around Lazio striker Ciro Immobile’s goal, with an apparent foul by Jordan Lukaku on Riccardo Sottil in the build-up going unpunished and unchecked by VAR.
“We’ve had replays in the US for years and we have no controversy. Last night, I saw why it’s so controversial in Italy,” Commisso added.
“It’s a little bit scandalous what happened to us because it will penalise us for a long time.
“But it all comes from a foul that wasn’t given. Why is VAR there if it isn’t used? It was the same against Napoli.
“This is an international rule and it seems right to me that he was sent off. But I don’t understand why, at international level, it wasn’t signalled to go to VAR.”
The result saw Lazio climb to sixth in the table after nine games, three points above Fiorentina in ninth.
