Saliba’s Marseille loan comes to abrupt end after suspension | OneFootball

William Saliba has played the final game of his loan spell with Marseille, as he’ll be suspended when they take on Strasbourg.

Marseille’s Spanish defender Pol Lirola (L) and Marseille’s French defender William Saliba react during the French L1 football match between Olympique Marseille (OM) and Olympique Lyonnais at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, southern France, on May 1, 2022. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images)

William Saliba has played his final minutes for Marseille on his loan spell, due to the strange suspension rules in France.

Like in the Premier League, Ligue 1 hand out suspensions for accumulations of yellow cards. But the slate doesn’t get wiped clean, so Saliba’s fifth yellow of the season last weekend still earned him a one-match ban.

Even more bizarrely, that ban doesn’t apply straight away, coming into effect for the game after. So Saliba was eligible to play against Rennes this weekend, but he won’t be involved against Strasbourg next Saturday.

Saliba has had an excellent loan at Marseille, so it was a shame that his final game ended with a damaging 2-0 defeat.

Marseille thus slipped into third for the first time in weeks, and they’re even at risk of falling to fourth on the final day.

In France, only the top two spots get you an automatic Champions League place, third is a qualifying spot, and fourth is Europa League.

For the sake of his teammates, Saliba will be hoping high-flying Strasbourg won’t have enough to win that final game even without his presence in the defence.