Olympique de Marseille (OM) has been banned from recruiting for a year by FIFA as part of the transfer of Senegalese midfielder Pape Gueye, Agence France-Presse learned on Saturday January 15 from a source with knowledge of the file, confirming daily information The Team.
The Marseille club should appeal this decision taken by the FIFA dispute resolution chamber. The procedure had been opened by the English club Watford, with which the player Pape Gueye had signed up before withdrawing and joining the French club. In the same procedure, OM received a fine of“just over two million euros”, according to the same source.
Pape Gueye suspended for four months
The footballer, for his part, was suspended for four months from all official competitions, with OM as with Senegal. Friday, he could not play with his selection against Guinea (0-0) in the African Cup of Nations.
“He had extra national team problems with Marseille. On a transfer, there were problems between Marseille and Watford. FIFA suspended him”, had declared his coach, Aliou Cissé. Both the player and OM should appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, on the merits of the decision and in order to obtain a suspensive effect of the sanction.
Before joining Olympique de Marseille in 2021, Pape Gueye, trained in Le Havre, had signed a pre-contract with Watford. At the end of April 2020, the English club announced its signing for five years, from 1er following July. But in the meantime, Gueye terminated the contract unilaterally for formal defects.
Born in France, the midfielder played with the Bleuets U18 and U19, before opting for Senegal, his parents’ country of origin, in October 2021. He signed his first professional contract in Le Havre in 2017.