Saint-Étienne dealt major blow as their top striker receives a lengthy suspension | OneFootball

The French Football Federation (FFF) is coming down hard on Ibrahim Sissoko (29) for his conduct in a Coupe de France fixture.

After 21 minutes, the AS Saint-Étienne striker was sent off for a violent hand to the face of Olympique de Marseille’s Leonardo Balerdi (25) back on December 22, the club’s last competitive fixture of 2024.

As a result, L’Équipe report that the Malian international has been given a seven-match suspension by the FFF disciplinary committee, two of which are suspended.

Following his expulsion, Saint-Étienne fell apart, exiting the Coupe de France with a 4-0 defeat versus Marseille in the round of 64.

This news is a blow to Eirik Horneland, who was appointed the club’s new manager in late December, replacing Olivier Dall’Oglio.

Sissoko has three domestic goals for Les Verts this season, second on the team behind Zuriko Davitashvili (23), who has five. Horneland will manage his first Ligue 1 fixture this weekend as Saint-Étienne welcome Stade de Reims to the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday.

Heading into 2025, this team are in a relegation playoff position, and only a point above Le Havre AC and descent into Ligue 2.

Saint-Étienne are currently on a four-match losing run across all competitions while winning just one of their previous five matches in Ligue 1 (1-0 at home to Montpellier HSC).

Last season, Sissoko led Les Verts with 12 goals in Ligue 2, enabling them to return to the top flight for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre