Marseille manager fined Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares for bad gesture. Nuno Tavares, an Arsenal loanee who received a red card and made an offensive gesture toward the fans of Montpellier, will be fined, according to Marseille manager Igor Tudor. Tavares had a rather successful game on January 1 at the Stade de la Mosson before the incident. He gave Marseille the lead with his sixth goal of the Ligue 1 campaign.
Maxime Esteve’s own goal in the 61st minute doubled the Olympians’ advantage. But following a VAR review, Tavares was sent out in the 87th minute for attacking Arnaud Souquet. The Arsenal loanee made a 2-0 motion to the home crowd as he left the pitch, which greatly infuriated boss Tudor.
The disgruntled manager lashed out at Tavares’ conduct in a statement to Amazon France (via Standard): “He’s lost his mind, he’s going to get a huge fine. It is possible, but he will be penalized because it will cost us in the long run. We are fortunate that the game’s conclusion went nicely.
Late in the game, Marseille was still able to win despite losing a player. It did come at a slight cost, though, as Montpellier’s Teji Tedy Savanier scored a penalty and they let up a goal in stoppage time. For Marseille, the victory over Montpellier was crucial because they are vying with Lens for second place in the Ligue 1 standings. In third place right now, they trail league leaders Paris Saint-Germain by just eight points.
Tudor and his team will be happy with their fourth straight victory. They will be hoping that the victory can act as a spark for the group and that they can capitalize on this energy in their forthcoming games. They will also have to play at least one game without Tavares, who is on loan from Arsenal and is suspended owing to his red card.
Given that the defender has made 16 Ligue 1 appearances this season, it is unclear how the team will do without him. Tudor will undoubtedly be hoping that the team as a whole can step up and fill the gap left by the gifted but difficult defender.
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