'I will never give up' - Paulo Fonseca denies he physically assaulted referee and vows to fight 'unfair' nine-month ban after Lyon boss bursts into tears while celebrating goal with his players in Europa League win

Just 24 hours after receiving a nine-month ban for his encounter with the referee during Lyon's clash with Brest, Fonseca managed his side to a 3-1 victory over FCSB, and emotion poured out of him when Nicolas Tagliafico scored and the squad rushed to the head coach to celebrate.

Fonseca's wife has publicly come to his defence, insisting his ban is akin to a "political execution", and he has now insisted that he has the support of his players, as he vowed to fight the suspension, which bans him from both the dugout and the dressing room for Ligue 1 fixtures. He has maintained his innocence.

Fonseca told reporters: "I am ready. I will never give up. We have the possibility of appealing to obtain justice. I have the support of my president [John Textor]. I just want to say one thing: I [took] a nine-month suspension for a situation for which I apologised. I see the media circus that continues to say that I committed an assault on the referee. There are the images. I did not touch the referee. I verbally assaulted the referee. But I never committed a physical assault and I had no intention of doing so."

He added: "I think that the people who decided on this sanction thought about the general situation of French football. I am the person who must pay. I saw what happened in France [for other situations]. The sanctions were different. It's not fair. No one can say otherwise."

Lyon play Nice on Sunday before the second leg against FCSB. Fonseca will not be on the bench this weekend.