Paris St Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has called for Bastia forward Brandao to be banned for life after he appeared to headbutt Thiago Motta in the tunnel following PSG’s 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.
Brandao, who joined Bastia from St Etienne last month, could be seen on video footage lunging towards PSG’s Italian midfielder after the match, and PSG later claimed Motta had suffered a broken nose.
In television interviews with both beIN Sports and Canal Plus, Al-Khelaifi called for Brandao, 34, to receive a “lifetime ban”.
“This is very serious,” he said. “It cannot be overlooked. It gives football a very bad image.
“I hope the Bastia player who did this will be very seriously punished. It is a landmark moment and requires a heavy penalty. This is not football.
“Our role is to protect the players, and when Thiago Motta is attacked like this, we must act. I am very upset.”
PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu added: “Everyone saw what happened. The video will confirm it and inevitably there will be sanctions. This is what we want. It ruined the match.”
Bastia coach Claude Makelele said he had not seen the tunnel incident, but would act if it was warranted.
“If my player has done this, it is unworthy of a professional and sanctions will be taken in relation to it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Montpellier bounced back from their opening-day defeat to record an impressive 2-0 victory at Marseille last night
Rolland Courbis’ side were beaten 2-1 by Bordeaux on the opening weekend but hit back in the best way possible, with Anthony Mounier and Morgan Sanson getting the goals.
Marseille had no answer, meaning their start to the season now reads one point from a possible six after their 3-3 draw with Bastia last weekend.
They were rarely in the game, with Montpellier getting on top from the off and crucially making their dominance count as the newly-renovated Stade Velodrome played host to its first Ligue 1 match.
Elsewhere, St Etienne continued their winning start to the new Ligue 1 season with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Reims at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
It was not all plain sailing for Christophe Galtier’s side, with Benjamin Moukandjo’s effort finding its way into the home net via a deflection off Loic Perrin in the 27th minute.
But Les Verts turned the match on its head after the interval, with goals from Max Gradel, Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Mevlut Erdinc sealing victory to follow up their 2-0 victory over Guingamp on the opening day.
