Patrice Evra’s career may be at a crossroads.
In the hours after kicking an Olympique Marseille fan that earned him a pre-match red card, Evra’s club swiftly announced that he had been suspended, with a interview set to come that could lead to more punishment. While he has a one-match Europa League ban currently, UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings, and he could fact both a longer internal and external ban.
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Patrice Evra not sacked. Suspended internally (no pay & isolated) ahead of disciplinary talks. Not fired (maybe as good as though). #OM
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) November 3, 2017
In its statement, the club admitted that its own fans had provoked Evra along with rushing onto the edge of the field to cause trouble, but that Evra had no right to act in that manner. Evra broke a Europa League record with his red card, as Marseille fell on the road, 1-0 to Vitoria Guimaraes.
0 - Patrice Evra is the 1st player to receive a red card before the kick off of a game in the history of the EL (2009/10). Karateka. pic.twitter.com/9Ii92bLnU7
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) November 2, 2017
The 36-year-old is in his second season at Marseille after three seasons with Juventus and nine seasons at Manchester United.
This isn’t Evra’s first brush with controversy. Evra accused Luis Suarez in 2011 of racial abuse, leading to an awkward exchange in which Suarez wouldn’t shake Evra’s hand before a Manchester United-Liverpool match.
Evra was also involved in the French National Team mutiny in 2010 that sabotaged the nation’s hopes at the World Cup in South Africa.