Monaco's Gelson Martins Banned 6 Months for Pushing Referee

Martins pushed Mikael Lesage in the chest after he had sent off Tiemoue Bakayoko.

PARIS (AP) – Monaco winger Gelson Martins has been suspended for six months by the French league after pushing a referee during a game last month.

The 24-year-old Portugal international shoved Mikael Lesage in the chest, moments after the referee had sent off his teammate Tiemoue Bakayoko during a 3-1 loss at Nimes on Feb. 1.

Martins was also sent off by Lesage, and had been provisionally suspended.

🚨 OFFICIAL: Gelson Martins 🇵🇹 has been suspended for 6 months, retroactive to February 6, 2020, for this incident below in which he pushed a referee 👇 pic.twitter.com/LFCQGTTLJy

— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) March 5, 2020

But the French league's disciplinary committee made his suspension permanent ''for an act of brutality'' after its weekly meeting on Thursday.