Montpellier chief summoned for homophobic slur

PARIS (AP) Montpellier president Louis Nicollin has been summoned by the French Football Federation's ethics commission after he used a homophobic term to describe Auxerre midfielder Benoit Pedretti.

Nicollin, who could be suspended for up to two months, has apologized for his outburst after his team's 2-1 loss to Auxerre in the French league over the weekend.

He accused Pedretti of being responsible for the sending-off of Montpellier playmaker Alberto Costa and said that his players would "take care of him" when the two teams meet again in March.

Costa was red-carded in the 74th minute of Saturday's match following a rash tackle on the Auxerre captain.

On Monday, the ethics commission summoned Nicollin to appear on Nov. 16.

Several gay rights groups expressed outrage over Nicollin's comment and threatened to sue him.

"He called me Sunday afternoon to apologize," Pedretti was quoted as saying in Monday's edition of L'Equipe newspaper. "To me, the case is closed... We know that he is a straightforward man, he was on the edge when he said that."

Following two consecutive losses, Montpellier is fourth in the standings, five points behind leader Bordeaux.

Updated November 2, 2009