Clean sheet marks Barthez's return

A home win against rivals Paris Saint-Germain FC at the weekend marked Olympique de Marseille goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's return to football.

Long suspension
The French international goalkeeper was given a six-month suspension after spitting at a referee in a friendly game in Morocco on 8 February, but while he could have hoped for an easier return to action than the game against PSG at the Stade Vélodrome, the goalkeeper acquitted himself well.

Familiar eccentricities
He showed that his long absence had not dimmed any of his eccentricities after a few minutes of Sunday's game, racing off his line to tackle PSG's Bonaventure Kalou on the edge of his penalty area. He challenged the same player more controversially later in the half but avoided censure from referee Stéphane Poulat.

Exemplary display
However, that questionable challenge was to be the 34-year-old's only minor aberration of the game, as he denied Sergei Semak in a one-on-one to lay the foundations for Marseille to win the match with a late goal. He is now ready to play in his side's UEFA Cup group stage game against PFC CSKA Moskva on Thursday.

'I never stopped playing'
"Did I miss playing?" he said after the game. "Absolutely not, because I never stopped playing. I have been supported and backed by all the staff in the past months. But my case is not important now; I'm just happy with the three points and the fact that Marseille fans will be happy in the traffic jams on Monday."

Grassroots challenge
As he came out to warm up 45 minutes before kick-off, a crowd of 55,000 were there to greet him as he joined the first team for the first time since 23 April. Barthez had been banned until 31 December 2005 but the sanction was reduced to six months after he agreed to perform ten tasks which would help French football at grassroots level.

Able deputy
In the French international's absence, young Cédric Carrasso has proved an able deputy, helping his side to reach the UEFA Cup group stage after a penalty shoot-out against Belgian side KFC Germinal Beerschot, but Barthez's return brought a swift return to the old order.

Established hierarchy
"The hierarchy is clear," said Marseille coach Jean Fernandez. "Fabien is our No1 and our team captain; Cédric is second choice." However, France coach Raymond Domenech may not be keen to make such a swift decision, having seen Olympique Lyonnais' Grégory Coupet perform well in Barthez's absence.