Al-Khelaïfi will not go away scot-free

Pochettino’s public protests against the referee and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi’s angry behavior in the Santiago Bernabéu box could cost them both dearly. UEFA is not very condescending with this type of behavior. Article 51 of the Champions League regulations includes the following: “The provisions of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations apply to offenses committed by clubs, officials, members or other persons acting in a match on behalf of an association or club, unless otherwise stipulated in these regulations.”

According to said Disciplinary Regulation, in article 15, players and coaches will be suspended for between 1 and 15 games depending on the seriousness of the conduct. The lightest, those of a game, would be the sanctions for two yellow cards, rough play, protests, insults, unsportsmanlike conduct and provocation. It would be aggravated to two games if abusive language is directed at a referee (Pochettino’s statements could enter this field) or for causing cards. With three games, an insult to the referee or an attack on a rival would be sanctioned. And from there, he would have a sanction of five games for assaulting a referee and up to 15 in case of attacking a referee. All these penalties can be cumulative and be accompanied by fines.

High-sounding statements, in addition, can also carry a sanction depending on the severity. José Mourinho, for example, lost five games when he criticized UEFA itself, as well as the referees, after the famous Champions League semi-final match against Barça that ended 0-2 and Pepe was expelled. He received a 20,000 euro fine for his criticism of the arbitration establishment and UEFA.

That is to say, Pochettino will have a sporting sanction but the doubt resides in Al-Khelaïfi. The regulation does not stipulate that managers be sanctioned with matches, like the players or the coach. It all depends on the referee’s report, which he then transfers to the UEFA delegate at the match.

Although it is not public, El Larguero announced that in section 7 of said minutes the referee wrote that “the president and the technical director of PSG showed aggressive behavior and tried to enter the referees’ locker room. When the referee asked them to leave, they blocked the door and the president deliberately hit the pennant of one of the attendees, breaking it.If so, both the president of PSG and Leonardo are exposed to a sanction. The Brazilian has already been sanctioned at the national level for two years without being able to exercise in France as sports director for pushing a referee in the locker room tunnel.

There are not many precedents for this in Europe. A similar case is that of Jesús Gil against Parma in the 1993 Cup Winners’ Cup. The then president of Atlético prevented the referee from entering the locker room and was suspended for six games without being able to represent the club in European competitions. But many things have changed since then, including the Disciplinary Code itself…