The Ligue de Football Professionnel has decided not to hand out suspensions to Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar and Olympique de Marseille defender Alvaro Gonzalez, the organization announced on its official website.
The LFP investigated Neymar’s allegation that Gonzalez racially abused him during the tense-filled Le Classique fixture earlier this month. Neymar was clear during and after the fixture that Gonzalez directed a racist remark at him. Thus, the LFP decided to open an investigation and hold a meeting to further investigate the matter and also examine whether Neymar directed any offensive remarks at Gonzalez.
Following the LFP’s investigation and hearing from both players, the organization decided that it did not have “sufficient convincing evidence” to push for a suspension or any disciplinary measure against either of the two players. Thus, the LFP decided to close its investigation and also not sanction PSG and Marseille.
It remains to be seen whether either club will push to appeal the LFP’s decision or if there will be a call to reopen the investigation down the road if new evidence emerges. PSG and Marseille were each transparent in support of their respective player following the incident, so it will also be interesting to see whether both plan to accept the LFP’s decision or if either will call for a possible independent investigation. But for now, both players will continue to feature for their teams and not face any lengthy break in action.
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